


Someday I Will Find You

by shaggydiz



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adam is trash, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Arkos - in the background, Background Relationships, Bumbleby - Freeform, F/F, Flying through the years folks, Jacques is awful, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prismatic Ponytails - Freeform, Rare Pairings, ReNora - in the background, Ruby's soulmate is probably her weapon fyi, Serious crack?, Some characters are OOC, Soulmates communicate through unorthodox means, Soulmates feel each other's pain, Sunnybees - in the background, Whitley is stupid, just a heads up, sorrynotsorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-05-23 22:37:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14942676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaggydiz/pseuds/shaggydiz
Summary: To Weiss Schnee, the concept of 'ambaye unamtumikia' – translated roughly to “the one for whom you are bonded” – both excited and frightened her.To Ilia Amitola, knowing that someone on the other end the world was connected to her kept her moving forward.A canon divergent story where soulmates feel each other's pain.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Starting a somewhat short (probably 8-10 chapters) story on an idea that popped into my head recently.
> 
> Yes, I like this rare pair.
> 
> Also, prepare to go through the first season at the speed of light. Beware of whiplash.

                To Weiss Schnee, the concept of _ambaye unamtumikia_ – translated roughly to “the one for whom you are bonded” – both excited and frightened her.

                The excitement came at age seven, when she first learned of it through books she read.  She asked her father about it, and Jacques, patient at the time, explained to her how it worked: each person, from birth, or some time after, and through some means that even the greatest scientists have been unable to explain, becomes bonded to another person.  The bond, Jacques told her, could be anyone from anywhere – a person next door to you, or literally the opposite side of Remnant.  The bonded pairs may never meet because of this, though it was said that some sort of “pull” would eventually win out, allowing the bonded pair to find a way to meet.  Weiss asked if her father believed that part; he shrugged and mentioned that her mom was living in Atlas the whole time.  Maybe the “pull” was stronger when the pairs were closer?

                Jacques warned Weiss about the frightening aspects of _ambaye unamtumikia_ though, which she discovered at age ten: the first time she felt pain that wasn’t hers.  She was sitting at her desk one day, combing her hair, when she felt a subtle pain run down her entire right side of her body.  It didn’t make sense at first: how would combing her hair cause this much pain?  But then it hit her: it was her bonded person.  Something had happened to them, and she felt their pain, clear as day.  What had happened to cause so much pain though?  Weiss stood up and immediately found she could barely walk.  She struggled to her bed, calling for her house maids as she did.  They came, and one immediately ran for Jacques.

                “What is it?” he asked as he entered her room.

                “My soulmate,” Weiss whispered, still in pain, though she was feeling a little better.  “Something happened to her and half my body started hurting.”

                Jacques pulled up next to her, wiping her head, when his scroll started ringing.  He answered it, and Weiss watched his expression change from concerned to angered in an instant.

                “Ship off any of the survivors then.  One of them…” and then he walked away.  Weiss didn’t hear was he said after.

                “Is everything okay?” she asked one of the nurses attending to her.

                “I hope so.”

 

* * *

 

 

                The next seven years, until Weiss proved herself worthy of leaving Atlas and going to Beacon, were an absolute nightmare.

                Everything with her father changed after that day, from the way he looked at her and interacted with her, to the way he started slapping her and saying “I hope they feel this as much as you do.”  Weiss wanted, _needed_ , to escape, and so she worked on improving herself in the best way she could.  She excelled at academics.  She took on fencing and was the top of her class.  And then her semblance activated, for the first time at thirteen, and she worked to make that the best she possibly could.  Winter, her sister, taught her as much as she could, balancing her sword skills with her glyphs, so by the time she was seventeen, she was ready to leave Atlas.

                On that day, Jacques took her to their master ballroom.  “Here is your challenge,” he told her, pointing to the opposite end of the hall.  “Our scientists fused a Grimm spirit to this armor.  Defeat it, and you shall have your wish.”

                “And if I fail?”

                “You will go to Atlas Academy and remain here.”

                “Very well,” she said, drawing her sword and pressing her thumb to her wrist three times.

                She felt her wrist throb instantly, three distinct times, and smiled.

                _I shall find you Ilia, and this is the first step._

 

* * *

 

 

                Weiss had one other escape during her teenage years.  Another part of _umbaye unamtumikia_ was a way to “communicate” with the bonded person, and Weiss, through research on the CCT and the mansion’s library, found the perfect way to do so.  She learned that some pairs developed a language system, either by using some old emergency standards or by making things up.  Weiss, sticking with the standards, choose Morsey’s code, which was a series of dots and dashes that spelled out letters and words.  She tried it out on her wrist for the first time at age twelve, hoping that her bonded partner would pick up on it.

                Thankfully, they did, and Weiss was elated.

                It took a while for anything meaningful to come from the presses they shared on their wrists, as they had to learned how to communicate through such antiquated means, but Weiss knew it was a worthwhile endeavor.  Simple questions helped: one tap meant “yes”, while two taps meant “no”.

                She found out their name: Ilia.  A girl partner, which surprised Weiss: most pairings, she thought, were hetero.  She found research that suggested upwards of fifteen percent of pairs were of the same gender.

                She found out where she lived: Menagerie.  An island south of Anima.

                Which, Weiss put two and two together: Ilia was a faunus.  Further research suggested that eight to ten percent of pairs were human-faunus types.

                This, Weiss realized, was what caused her father to change as much as he did that day.  To him, faunus were subhuman.  He worked them to the bone in their company owned dust mines and didn’t care if the lot of them died when a mine accident occurred.

                Weiss realized as well that, for as long as her partner lived, she would never inherit her grandfather’s company.  A Schnee standing side by side with a faunus?  Unconceivable in Atlesian society!

                It didn’t matter.  Weiss knew her means of escape.  She just had to endure the long, violent years from her father to get there.

                “What is your name?” said the taps on her wrists.

                “Weiss,” she replied.  Her last name was a curse, and she didn’t speak it.

                “Weiss… that’s a pretty name.”

                Weiss smiled, happy and content.

                _I will find you Ilia… someday._

 

* * *

 

 

                “Did he hurt you again?” Ilia had asked her, sometime after her fourteenth birthday.

                One tap.

                “I will hurt him twice as much as he had done to you.”

                Weiss could only nod.  Much like her family name, she never told Ilia what her father’s name was.  She could figure it out too quick.

                And then what would happen?

 

* * *

 

 

                The tapping started moments after the strike happened.  It was a moment of distraction on Weiss’s end.  Part of her wanted to show off against the metal suit, to show her dad that she could face anything he could toss at her.

                Oh how foolish she was.

                A quick glance was at it took, looking to her father.  The suit was faster than expected, and it struck her clean in the face, breaking her aura almost instantly.  She flew back, landed hard, struggled to pick herself up.  Blood drops hit the floor, and the wound forced her eye closed.

                “Are you okay?  Tell me!  TELL ME!”

                The taps were frantic, furious, but Weiss had to ignore them.  She had to focus on the Grimm before her.  All her foolish vanity disappeared, and she attacked, yielding no quarter against the suit, until she finally found its bonding point and pierced it to nothing.

                Only then did she respond.

                One tap: “yes.”

                And then: “I’ve won.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “I’ve finally arrived at Beacon,” Weiss tapped on her wrist a few months later.  She glanced out the window of her airship, seeing the main building of the academy a short distance away.

                “I’m glad.  I’m sorry I can’t join you.  There’s too much happening here.”

                Weiss shook her head, and slowly wrote back her response.  “Like I’ve said, we have time.  Once I get settled in, we can make our plans.”

                A few minutes of silence, and then: “I’m looking forward to that day.”

                “Me too.”

                Her ship arrived, anchoring to the cliff side.  Weiss look out the airlock door, and decided that, at least for appearances, she would be the one respected through name alone.

                _In the end, I’m still a Schnee._

                She departed, with one of the house servants rolling a frame with several suitcases: half were school essentials, like clothes and books and other necessities; the other half were dust, each compartmentalized for her Myrtenaster.  They were protected well, though still volatile; a strong bump or jostle could break the seals protecting the dust.

                Much like the one that was going to occur from the spinning girl just ahead of her.

                “Whoa, hey!” she shouted.  “Are you okay?”

                _And there goes me being a snob._

                “Yeah,” the girl said, taking a seat on the ground.  She was interesting, Weiss concluded: the curious blending of black and red, from her head to her toes; the tattered and torn cape that needed mending but was still cared for immensely; and, the fact that she looked… really, _really_ young.  “My sister left me alone to catch up with ‘friends’.  They were a whirlwind!”

                “Well, I’m glad I caught you when I did.  If you knocked into my suitcases, you’d have been shot a hundred feet in the air.”  She reached a hand down to the girl, who gladly accepted it.

                “That would have been awkward, especially on my first day!”  She brushed herself off as she regained her footing.  “I’m Ruby!  Ruby Rose!”

                Weiss smiled.  “I’m –”

                “Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.”

                The pair turned around, spotting another woman walking up to them: Weiss’s age, much taller, and with black hair, tied into place with a bowed-up ribbon.

                “Am I that noticeable?” Weiss asked.

                “Between the symbol on your airship, your jacket, and your luggage, just a bit.”

                “… I see.”  It was something she was going to have to change.  “And who might you be, if I can ask?”

                “No one that wishes to tell you.”

                “And why is that?” Weiss asked, anger etching into her words.

                “Why should I be friendly with the heiress to a company with poor faunus rights records?”

                _Ah… that’s right…_

                As much as Weiss wanted to argue, to yell… she couldn’t.  Not when the facts are, indeed, the facts.

                “That’s not fair!”  That didn’t stop Ruby from yelling at the girl though.

                “Ruby… it’s fine.”

                “It’s not!  No one should judge you for that after just barely meeting you!  It’s absurd!”

                Both Weiss and the woman were taken aback by Ruby’s earnestness.  It seemed, at least to Weiss, that she had strong feelings concerning people’s character.

                “Blake.”

                “Hmm?” Weiss asked, turning back to the woman.

                “My name is Blake,” she properly introduced.

                Weiss nodded.  “And I _am_ the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.  And I know of the abuses, because my father is a despicable man.”  She took a bold step towards Blake.  “But I’m going to change all of that.”

                Blake smirked.  “Prove it.”  She extended her hand out for Weiss to shake, which she gladly did.

 

* * *

 

 

                She didn’t expect to have three-quarters of their team already on… mostly friendly terms, but when she met the fourth one that night, Yang, she knew the bond they would have would be nearly unbreakable.  Over time, each of her teammates were able to make her realize certain things that she needed.

                Ruby, she found, was already a natural, charismatic leader, and as much as she knew her father would be disappointed that she wasn’t made the leader of their team, she found that she didn’t really care.  She only had to prove to herself that she could achieve what she wanted: to be the best possible person, the best teammate, and to, the old gods willing, find Ilia.  Ruby being leader made all of those things that much easier for her.

                In Blake, she found her balance.  She found herself falling into her role as heiress every once in a while, and Blake – cool, enigmatic Blake – was able to pull her out of her snobbish ways.  Weiss knew she was hiding a lot of things, but she didn’t want to pick or pry.  Yang was Blake’s partner after all, chosen through the archaic and haphazard rules of Ozpin’s first mission objectives, so the blonde-haired brute could deal with her.

                And Yang… Yang was mom, Weiss discovered.  At least, more of a mom than her own, since her blood relation decided sinking into a bottle was better than dealing with her father’s abuse of her.  Yang was the glue that held everything together.  On more than one occasion, Weiss found herself sitting and snuggling into Yang, who was more than happy to take her burdens away with a strong hug.  “You’re strong, Weiss.  Never forget that.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “I love my team,” Weiss tapped out one day, several weeks into the semester.  She had done this a lot, speaking this phrase to Ilia, and waiting for her partner’s response.

                “So you’ve told me.  I’m glad.  Do they know of me yet?”

                “Not yet,” she tapped back.  “I will when the time is right.  However, I suspect something…”

                “What is it?”

                “‘Yellow’ and ‘Black’ might be bonded.”

                “TASJLPASDJFOWAIDJFIALSDJ!!!!!!”

                Weiss laughed hard, feeling the excited response coming from Ilia.

                “Tell me how it goes?”

                “I will.”  And then: “I miss you.”

                A pause, a bit longer than she wanted, but she still received a response: “I miss you too.”

 

* * *

 

 

                The names that Weiss chose – ‘Yellow’, ‘Black’, and ‘Red’ – were done to protect her teammates identities.  Ilia understood the need for that and kept to secrecy with the names of people around her, such as ‘Bull’ and ‘Fox’.  There was no need to divulge about everything; they only needed enough to tell their stories.

                One of Weiss’s stories to Ilia, told several days after her suspicion, went as well as she expected: the team was out on a class bonding exercise, sent to collect a tree sap known for its luring properties.  While Yang and Blake were off on their own, Weiss grabbed Ruby and hid behind a couple of trees.

                “They’re a bonded pair,” Weiss told her.

                “OH MY GODS REALLY!?” Ruby squealed.

                Weiss slapped her hands over her teammate’s mouth.  “Not so loud Ruby!”

                “Sorry,” she muttered.

                “It’s fine.  They don’t know though, or at least I don’t think they know.  For all we know, they’ve been playing coy about it the whole time.”

                “So you want them to get together?” Ruby asked.

                Weiss nodded.  “They’re already smitten for each other anyway.  Being bonded would be the icing on the cake for them.”

                “Oh, I’m so happy for them!  Who would have thought?  Yang and Blake?  They’re so… opposite?”

                “That’s… pretty accurate.  They work well together though.”

                “They do,” Ruby affirmed.  “What’s the plan?  I figure you have one, since you’re telling me to keep quiet.”

                “We need to find a way for one of us to hit Yang, whether it be you flying into her or me launching an ice ball or something.  But they need to be close to each other, or at least see it happening so they know where the pain is coming from.”

                Ruby nodded, and together they walked back to their work area.  They found their teammates, along with most of Team JNPR, harvesting sap from trees.

                “Hey Yang!” Weiss called out.

                “Yeah?” she replied.

                As Weiss was preparing to launch ice at her intended victim, there was a ruckus from a clearing close to them.  Team CRDN came flying through, most of them yelling something along the lines of “URSA!”, to which Weiss and the others immediately ran in the opposite direction, heading towards the Ursa.  They found it towering over a cowering Jaune.

                “Somebody get him out of there!” one person shouted.

                “On it!” Pyrrha yelled, stepping forward and _pulling_ Jaune back to safety.

                Pyrrha, not realizing the totality of her own strength, threw Jaune back into a not-completely-prepared Yang, who took a face full of Jaune and fell over.

                An instant later, two things happened: Pyrrha stretched her back, and Blake rubbed her face, saying out loud: “What the heck was that?”  The former probably meant nothing, though Weiss and pretty much everyone but Jaune knew that Pyrrha liked Jaune, so the back stretch started rousing suspicion in her as well.

                No, the more important thing happened: Weiss watched as realization hit Blake’s face, seeing her eyes open wide, almost in shock at what just occurred.

                “Yang… she’s my bonded one?” she questioned aloud.

                “Blake!  Ursa!  Focus!” Pyrrha commanded.  “You can deal with this after we beat this thing.”

                Behind them, Ruby walked up to Weiss and said: “Well, that went better than expected.  I’m glad I didn’t get thrown into Yang’s face.”

                “Me neither,” Weiss commented.

                “Incoming!”

                They both turned, seeing a recovered Yang throwing Jaune back into the fray.  They ducked in the nick of time, as the blond boy yelled “WHY ME?!” as he smashed, shield and sword first, into the Ursa.

 

* * *

 

 

                “And then, somehow, ‘June’ beat the Ursa!” Weiss tapped on her wrist.

                “That is amazing!”  There were a few seconds of silence, as Weiss assumed Ilia was laughing and trying to catch her breath.  “What about him and ‘Purr’?”

                “Nothing yet,” Weiss said.  “They’re clueless.  As for ‘Yellow’ and ‘Black’ though, they’re still talking.  They’ve been at it for hours!”

                “They’re finally acting on their feelings?”

                One tap.

                There was an extended pause, before: “Good.  I’m glad.”

                “Is everything all right?” Weiss asked, concerned.

                Two taps.

                “What’s wrong?  Are you able to tell me?”

                Another extended pause.  “Things are getting out of hand here.  There’s a power play happening.  ‘Roar’ is losing control, and ‘Bull’ is forcing people to choose sides, and I’m not sure what I should do.”

                Weiss sat back and thought on this for a few moments.  She didn’t know the full politics of Menagerie, though it sounded like the typical maneuvers people made when they thought they had strength.  She didn’t know how to approach this one specifically, so she replied with: “Do what you think is right Ilia.”

                A pause.  “And what if I choose wrong?  Would you forgive me?”

                One tap, after a deep breath.  “You have to make it right though.”

                “Okay.”

 

* * *

 

 

                If there was one thing that Weiss had issue with, it was Blake’s continued belief that the White Fang was doing good.  They had argued several times over the course of the semester, though nothing that didn’t test their relationship.  The breaking point, however, came after a trip down to the piers, and the arrival of the monkey faunus.  She didn’t believe that all faunus were bad – she had Ilia to thank for that – and she didn’t share her father’s bigotry towards faunus; rather, she had issue specifically with the terrorist group and how they’ve attack their shipments and human employees.

                However, she ran into a roadblock with Blake, who didn’t take too kindly to Weiss’s wavering attitude.

                “What do you mean they’re not terrorists?!  They’ve attack and destroyed shipments of dust and killed people!  That’s the textbook definition of terrorist!” she shouted at Blake back in their dorm.

                “They’re doing it because words won’t work anymore, and because your father and other governments have pushed us too far!”

                “What they’re doing is still terrible!”

                “And what about you?!  You said you wanted to create change and yet here you are, arguing semantics with me.  Do you even care about faunus?”

                “Of course I care!  My bonded is a faunus!”

                That shocked everyone to silence.

                “Wait… how do you know?” Blake asked.

                “Because I asked her, that’s how!”

                “Weiss… when were you going to tell us?” Ruby asked, sliding in between the arguing pair.

                “A better time than this!” Weiss yelled.

                “Weiss, calm down,” Yang said.

                “I know.”  She paused, taking a slow, deep breath.  “I didn’t know how to bring it up.  I mean, how could I?  Weiss Schnee, heir to Schnee Dust Company, the most faunus hating company on Remnant, being bonded to a faunus?!  Hah!  Think of what everyone would say!”

                “Weiss…”

                “All of Atlas would laugh me off the continent!  My own father abused me for years because he knew before me, _before me_ , that my bonded is a faunus!  And now, you’re accusing me of hating faunus when all I’ve said that one group of them are terrorists?  I just… I’m doing what I can to change, to make things better, but it always seems like I fall back.”

                No one had an answer, at least right away.  Ruby looked away from everyone, while Yang looked to Blake.  Blake, meanwhile, kept raising her hand to her head, as if contemplating something.

                Weiss, however, was the first to speak again: “Blake… what did you mean by ‘us’?”

                Blake’s eyes shot wide open, and she took a hesitant step back.  “I… I misspoke.”

                “I don’t think you did,” Weiss said calmly, taking her own step back, giving her teammate room.  “Are you faunus as well?”

                “I…”

                “Blake.”  It was Yang, pulling up next to her bonded.  “You can show her.”

                Blake nodded, then reached up and pulled the ribbon out of her hair, revealing a pair of black cat ears.

                “OH MY GODS THEY’RE SO CUTE!” Ruby squealed.

                “Ruby, hush!” Weiss commanded.

                “Sorry…”

                The white-haired girl turned back to Blake.  “Why do you hide?”

                “Because the things you said, it’s what people believe ten-fold.  They can’t differentiate between faunus being good and being in the White Fang.  They think we’re one in the same.  They’re why words have stopped working, because humans only see us as animals.”

                “So if they see you as animals, you respond by acting like them and attack everyone,” Weiss confirmed.

                “Exactly.”

                “What can we do?  What can I do, Blake?”

                “Realize that all things aren’t black and white, Weiss,” Blake suggested, then let a grin fall on her face as she pointed between their choice of clothing styles.  “And keep pushing to get your father out of the company.  I believe you can do it, and I’ll always have your back.”

                Weiss nodded.  “I’ll have yours as well.  I’ll keep learning and doing my best.”

                “Good,” Blake answered as she tied the ribbon back onto her head.

                “Uh, Blake…”

                “Yes Ruby?”

                “Why are you putting them away?  They really are adorable.”

                Blake chuckled, shaking her head.  “I have my own reasons to hide, all of them having to do with the White Fang.”

                “Awww… stupid White Fang,” Ruby muttered.

                “What now?” Weiss asked.

                “Now is the perfect time for our favorite monkey faunus to jump in and say hi!”

                “Ah!” screamed the girls, leaping back from the open window where the faunus they saw this morning was, literally hanging from a tree.  Weiss went one step further, throwing a glyph at him and completely dislodging him from the tree.

                “That was uncalled foooooorrrr…”

                “Someone should check on him,” Yang suggested, peaking her head out the window.

                “Come on Yang,” Ruby said, tugging on her sister’s jacket.  “We can go.  Our teammates need some more time to chat anyway.”

                The pair left, leaving Weiss and Blake standing in the room alone.

                “I’m sorry Blake.  I really am.”

                “I know, and I forgive you.  We’re a team, and we’re both trying to be better people by not repeating our past mistakes.”

                Weiss smiled.  “You’re a good teammate.”

                “Thanks.  You’re not so bad yourself, when you don’t put up your ‘I’m the bestest, most greatest person ever’ schtick.”

                “Hey!”

                “So… who is she?”

                “My bonded?” Weiss asked.

                Blake nodded.  “I’m curious.  I’m sure you’ve exchanged names at this point, since you’ve clearly known her for a long time.”

                “We have.  Her name… her name is Ilia.”

                “Wait,” Blake started, taking a cautionary step back.  “Ilia?  She’s from Menagerie?”

                “Yeah.”

                “Has she told you her faunus trait?”

                “She’s a chameleon.  Why?”  She paused as she studied Blake’s shifting facial features.  “Wait… don’t tell me…”

                “Weiss.  I know her.  I know Ilia.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “Ilia.”

                A pause, then taps.  “Hey.”

                “I need to ask you a question.”

                “Sure.  Is everything all right?”

                _Are they?_

                _Are they really okay?_

                “I just… are you with the White Fang?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for Ilia's background. Prepare the jump to ludicrous speed!

                To Ilia Amitola, knowing that someone on the other end of the world was connected to her kept her moving forward.

                Everywhere else, she kept losing everyone close to her.

                At age ten, a dust mine that she worked in collapsed.  She got hurt – the right side of her body was broken and bruised from the collapse – but she lost so much more that day.  Her parents, working several levels beneath her, never had a chance.  They were only a couple of the sixty faunus that died that day.

                Somehow, Ilia recovered from the collapse, even as she was shipped around Remnant, from Atlas to Anima to, finally, Menagerie.  As she turned eleven, and then twelve, she became angrier with how the world treated her.  She lashed out at foster families and ran away on multiple occasions, though being on an island, she never got far.

                Nothing ever went right for her.

                That was, until she “met” Weiss.

 

* * *

 

 

                The phantom pains Ilia felt in her face for two years bothered her as much as the foster families she had to deal with.  It took her a while to figure out that the pain she felt was coming from her bonded partner.  She learned about that at age eight or nine from her parents, who had luckily found themselves a year before she was born.  She didn’t think she’d feel the pain this young in life, but at least she knew she had someone.

                At twelve though, she woke up one morning to a rhythmic tapping along her wrist.  It was a weird feeling at first: it was like a pulse that spasmed randomly at times.  After a while, she figured out it was a word: “Hello”.  The tapping was done in old Morsey code, which she learned while working in the mines.  She let the person tap the word again, and then she replied:

                “Hi.”

                “Hi… how… are… you…” were the follow up taps.

                Ilia smiled, for the first time in a long time.

                “I’m… good…” she tapped in response.

                For the next hour, she and her newly discovered bonded partner tapped each other simple messages, making sure the words weren’t too complicated.  They asked each other questions like: “What’s your favorite color?” and “How old are you?”

                Then the mystery person asked: “What… is your… name?”

                “My name… is Ilia…”

                “A girl… me too…”

                Ilia smiled.  She didn’t expect her bonded to be another girl, but she was happy for that.  They could talk about girly things and make fun of boys for being boys.

                “What is your name?” she asked, able to find a better rhythm.

                “Weiss.”

                “Weiss…” and then: “What a pretty name.”

                _Or, I could say something like that?_

 

* * *

 

 

                And just like that, they became fast friends.

                The greatest benefit, Ilia found, was being able to confide in her deepest worries as an orphaned child.  Focusing her conversations there kept her from getting into trouble, and she managed to stay in a foster home until she turned fifteen.  She became friendlier and more astute, doing better in her studies than she had in the previous two years.

                She learned a lot about Weiss during this time too.  She was a human girl – Weiss told her that cross bonds were rare – and that she was in line to take over a major company.  She didn’t specify which one, but she did tell her that she once she was in there, she’d be able to make the changes that was sorely needed.  Her father, Ilia learned, didn’t like faunus, and the punishment she received was a result of being bonded to a faunus.

                “What a despicable man,” Ilia tapped out when she learned that, either at twelve or thirteen or fourteen.  It was one part of a conversation they had had many times.

                “He’s cruel.  I stopped loving him as a father years ago.”

                “I don’t blame you.”

                “Were you close to your parents?”

                “I was,” Ilia said, smiling fondly at a memory that surfaced.  “They loved me unconditionally.  We worked hard in the mines, but we came home and we were always happy to be in each other’s company.  We had an old board game… completely wore that out!”

                “I’m glad.”

                “What about your mother?” Ilia asked.

                There was a slight hesitation in the response.  “She’s a drunk.  My parents are bonded, but they stopped loving each other years ago.”

                “I’m sorry to hear that.”

                “It’s… whatever.  Perhaps they should have never met, or at least stayed platonic soulmates.”

                “You would have never been born though.”

                “… True.”

                “And we would have never become bonded.”

                There was an extended pause in the conversation they were having, as it began shifting away from Weiss’s terrible parents.  Ilia was concerned: was she being too forward?  Too optimistic in their relationship?  She had read that most soulmates that do eventually meet become involved romantically, though some stay platonic, becoming lifelong friends in the process.

                What would her and Weiss become, she wondered.

                “Can I ask you something?” Weiss eventually asked.

                “Sure, anything.”

                “Do… you like girls?”

                Ilia nodded to herself, then tapped out: “I do… and in the way that I think you intended with your question.”

                “I see.”

                “What about you?” Ilia quickly tapped out, trying to find some resolution to this question.

                A minute passed before Weiss tapped out her response.  “I’m not sure, to be honest.  I haven’t become… well, let’s say that I haven’t met anyone yet that has caught my eye, even though I’m only fourteen.  I’m usually stuck in the house studying or practicing my fencing skills to even consider going out with kids our age.  So I couldn’t tell you who I’m attracted to.”  A pause.  “Does this upset you?”

                “No,” Ilia said, shaking her head emphatically, even if her bonded couldn’t see or feel it.  “It’s always an option, but we could be platonic for life, or we could probably hate each other so much when we do meet that we decide to never see each other again!”

                There was a delayed response.  “Ilia, you’re too funny,” Weiss said.  “I don’t think that’ll happen.  I feel as if we’ll stay friends for life, when we do meet.”

                “And when will that be?” Ilia asked, hopeful.

                “I don’t know.  It won’t be for a long time, because I’m stuck here and not of age to go out on my own.  When I figure out my plans though, you’ll be the first to know.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “Ilia, I think I can get to Beacon,” Weiss said one day, when they were sixteen.

                “Really?”

                “Yeah.  It’ll be tough.  I’m sure father is going to test me… but I’m getting better with my sword skills and my semblance.”

                “Good!  I’m glad!”

                “What about you, Ilia?  If I get in, do you think you can get there?”

                “I hope so.  Things are starting to shift here though.  ‘Cat’ is getting ready to head out again, and ‘Bull’ is looking for someone to take her place on the island.”

                “Do you think it’s you?”

                Ilia thought about that for a moment.  “I’m not sure.  Fingers crossed, maybe?”

                “Fingers crossed.  How is ‘Cat’, by the way?”

 

* * *

 

 

                At fifteen, Ilia met Blake for the first time.

                The cat faunus, from what she learned, had left home the previous year, joining the White Fang – the more aggressive version of them – and disrupting shipments of dust and other refinement materials.  It was counter to what her parents, the Belladonnas, wanted for the White Fang, though they had been pushed out by Sienna Khan some time ago.  Blake’s father, Ghira, still held major influence on Menagerie, though his reach didn’t extend beyond its borders.

                As for the newer White Fang, Ilia had considered joining them over the last few years, though she held back because of her conversations with Weiss.  She never explicitly mentioned the White Fang, though she hinted at a faunus rights organization that formed on the island that wanted to do work around Remnant.  Weiss liked the idea, and hoped that someday, she’d be able to tie her company into ensuring faunus rights as well.

                Ilia met Blake at a rally on the island, as she was looking for new recruits for the White Fang.  The message was clear: the humans won’t listen to us; through power, we will gain respect.  There were a few faunus willing to join, while most others went about their business.  _Why are they content with their lives?_ Ilia wondered.  _Don’t they know how bad it is out there for us?_

                After the rally, Ilia waited around while Blake talked with a few people.  As they left, she approached the cat faunus: “Excuse me,” she said, “But I was hoping to learn more about the White Fang.”

                Blake smiled.  “I’ll be glad to talk to you.  What’s your name?”

                “Ilia.”

                “Well, Ilia, would you like to go somewhere else to chat about the Fang?”

                Ilia nodded.  They disappeared off the streets, to an apartment that Blake was renting.

                “What would you like to know?” Blake asked as they settled into her apartment.

                “I guess what you guys do,” Ilia replied after a few moments.

                Blake smiled.  “Like I said, it’s for the benefit of faunus rights around Remnant.  We travel a lot, getting faunus to join us in Haven, Vale, and Vacuo, and bringing the fight to the human governments.”

                “Do you parents agree with this?”

                Blake sighed.  “My parents… no, we don’t, unfortunately.”  She shook her head, looked up, and smiled at Ilia – Ilia found herself blushing at how pretty she looked – before continuing: “It’s all in the past.  Now, I’m working with Adam and traveling the world.  It’s tough, but it’s also rewarding, getting more faunus to join us.”

                Ilia liked that idea.  Maybe she could do some good with them.  Maybe, just maybe, she could get to Atlas, or even another part of Remnant, and meet Weiss, finally…

                “I’d like to join,” she told Blake.  “Where do I sign up?”

 

* * *

 

 

                For the better part of the year, Ilia trained her body and her mind to prepare for the rigorous demands that the White Fang placed upon her.  She developed her own weapon – a whip-sword – and while she had no semblance, she had both a powerful aura and her chameleon trait to rely on that would allow her to be an effective soldier on the field.

                “My shoulder hurts.  Doing some exercises again?” Weiss asked her one evening after a long training session.

                “You could say that,” Ilia replied back.

                Blake was around at times as well during that year, supervising her training and helping her improve her swordplay.  “You can be a good fencer, though your whip will hurt a lot more when you get that down,” she commented once.

                “I know.  I’m getting there,” Ilia replied.

                Soon, she was ready, and at age sixteen, she went on her first mission, on Anima.

                There, she met Adam.  He was young, charismatic, and often dangerous.  He commanded with a strong fist, though he also led the charge on attacking human targets, to show that he could be followed with respect.  She didn’t fear him, mainly because she never got close enough to him, but she noticed certain changes in Blake’s behavior over time, after the second and third mission she participated in.

                “He’s… getting out of hand,” Blake told her one night, while they camped out at the edge of the Vacuo desert.

                “How do you mean?”

                “Before, he was in control.  But now, it’s like he’s trying to control too much, and he’s becoming unhinged.  He’s more dangerous now than when we first met.”

                “What do you plan on doing?” Ilia asked her.

                “I don’t know.  I can’t stay with him forever though.”

                “Where will you go?”

                Blake looked up at the sky, thinking.  “Who knows.  I’ll probably change my name to something dumb though.  Maybe I’ll go find my bonded.”

                Ilia smiled at that.  Maybe she can join Blake?  She didn’t think this would be a lifelong commitment anyway.  Maybe she can find Weiss.  She tapped her wrist three times.

                A few moments later, she got three slower ones in response.

                “Sorry Weiss.  Go to sleep.”

                “Let’s get some sleep, Ilia,” Blake suggested, turning towards her tent.

                Ilia liked the idea, and got up to do the same.

 

* * *

 

 

                “Why do you keep rubbing your knuckles?” Ilia asked the day that Weiss faced the challenge prepared by her father.

                “Why do you keep tapping your wrist?” Blake retorted.

                “Touche,” Ilia said, sticking her tongue out at her friend.  She tapped her wrist three times.

                Three taps in response.

                “My bonded likes to punch things.  It’s almost like I’m getting arthritis by proxy!”

                They both laughed.  “Mine… well, if all goes well, she’ll be – AH!”

                A sharp pain hit her face, all along the left orbital area.  She grabbed it and fell to her knees, trying to breathe and focused.

                _Weiss…_ “Are you okay?  Tell me!  TELL ME!” she tapped furiously, though she couldn’t keep it up as her eye throbbed in pain.

                “Ilia, look at me,” Blake commanded.  “It’s only temporary.  Just focus on my voice and block out the pain.”

                “It’s… hard,” she muttered.  “It’s like she got hit by a brick wall.”

                “That’s no good.  Here, lie down.”

                Ilia did as commanded.  She kept her hand over her face, trying to soothe the pain away.  Blake had disappeared and reappeared with ice, placing it over Ilia’s eye.

                “There, relax.”

                “What about the mission?”

                Blake shook her head.  “It’s all right.  Adam and I can handle it.  I’ll come find you when it’s done.”

                Ilia nodded.  “Be careful.”

                “I will,” Blake said.

                She left the camp.  The next day, Ilia learned that Blake betrayed Adam and the White Fang.  She was a pariah now.

                _Blake ran away and left me here.  I’m all alone again._

                A few moments after Blake disappeared, she received one tap.

                Followed by: “I won.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “Go back to Menagerie,” Adam told her a month after Blake's desertion.

                “Why?” Ilia asked.  “I want to stay here and help.”

                “I need you at home.  Great things are about to happen with the White Fang and I need support.  Report to Fennec and Corsac, they’ll keep you appraised of the situation.”

                “Understood Adam.  What will you do?” she asked him.

                “There’s business in Vale I need to attend to. We have a client willing to lend us a hand.”

 

* * *

 

 

                Two months later, Weiss arrived at Beacon.  “I wish I could join you there,” Ilia lamented.  “There’s too much happening here.”

                That part was true: all she's done since returning to Menagerie was do recruitment drives, once or twice a week, and report on the progress to Fennec and Corsac.  Nothing she did was working out though: again, everyone was content here.

_Why can’t I recruit in Vale? Or Haven? Hell, send me back to Atlas, at least I can make myself useful there._

                “Like I’ve said, we have time,” Weiss tapped, cutting into her thoughts.  “Once I get settled in, we can make our plans.”

_Vale is better actually, send me there instead Adam._

                Why Adam had her remain in Menagerie remained a mystery.  She was one of his best fighters, rivaling Blake's own combat skills.  _Does he not think I can handle myself out there?_

                “I’m looking forward to that day,” she tapped in reply.

                “Me too.”

                Ilia left her alone after that, letting Weiss focus on finding her way around Beacon.  She realized that it was probably the first time she had left Atlas for greener shores.

_Enjoy it Weiss.  You deserve it._

 

* * *

 

 

 

                “What are you smiling about?” Fennec asked her.

                “Got some good news from my bonded.  Apparently, a couple of friends of theirs are bonded and don’t even know it!”

                “That’s… interesting.  Wouldn’t you agree, brother?” Fennec turned to his brother.

                “It is,” Corsac replied, “but hardly concerning at this time.”

                “What do you mean?” Ilia asked, her smile fading away.

                “Adam is beginning to make his moves.” Fennec said.

                “Concerning Vale?”

                Corsac shook his head. “About Sienna Khan.”

                “I don’t understand.”

                “Adam believes that Sienna is not properly addressing the true feelings of our faunus brothers and sisters,” Corsac said.

                “He wants to make sure our loyalties are in the right place… when the time comes, of course,” Fennec finished.

                Ilia nodded slightly.  “I see.  Shall I have my leave now?  I need to think things over.”

                Fennec smiled.  “Go ahead! You’ve proven yourself well as a loyal member of the White Fang.  Take all the time you need.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “And what if I chose wrong?  Would you forgive me?” Ilia asked.  The last thing she wanted was for Weiss to lose trust in her.  If she sided with Sienna Khan, then Adam would target her immediately.  If she sided with Adam, how long would be safe with him before he disposed of her?  Everything hinged on fear of Adam.

_I can see why Blake chose to run away now._

_She still left me behind._

                One tap, and Ilia exhaled a breath she didn’t think she was holding.  “You have to make it right though.”

_How would I go about that Weiss?_

 

* * *

 

 

                “Ilia.”

                Ilia smiled.  “Hey.”

                “I need to ask you something.”

                “Sure.  Is everything all right?” She asked Weiss.

                There was hesitation in the response.

_What’s wrong?_

                “I just… are you with the White Fang?”

                There it was.

                The question Ilia had been dreading to feel for the longest time now.  She sat numb in her room, trying to figure out what to say in return.  Should she lie?

_No, someone or something tipped her off._

                She needed to tell her the truth.  It wouldn’t be fair to Weiss to leave her in the dark about this.

                One tap.

                “Okay,” Weiss replied.

                “Are you…”

                “I’m not sure right now, to be honest,” Weiss tapped out. “I mean, I understand completely. Knowing who you are, what has happened to you… fighting for the White Fang makes the most sense.”

                “Did someone tell you?” Ilia asked.

                A pause. “Yeah. It was ‘Black'.”

_Black, Black… wait, is that?_

                “Is that who I think it is?”

                “Yeah. Promise me you won’t tell anyone. Not even ‘Bull'.”

                “Why?” Ilia asked, getting angrier by the moment. “She left us! She left me! I looked up to her!”

                “She needed to run Ilia! She told me what Adam is capable of! She didn’t even tell ‘Yellow' these things because they frighten her that much!”

                “She'll run from you too Weiss!  She ran from home and from the White Fang and from me!”

                “She won’t!”

                “And what makes you think that?” Ilia furiously tapped out.

                “Because she has us here. She has ‘Yellow'. I don’t think she’ll run from us.”

                “Then you’re a fool, just like her.”

                Weiss kept tapping, but Ilia ignored it.  Weiss didn’t understand Blake like she did.  She’ll never understand.  When the time comes, Blake will run and hide and die alone.

                And Ilia will laugh hard when it happens.

                The tapping continued, though it was just her name.  Weiss, trying so hard to reach out for her, her bonded.

_I never wanted this, not with… a human._

_A human who has been close to you for years.  Who didn’t care you were a faunus because she’s cared for you all along._

_Will you push her away too?  Will you be alone again?_

                Ilia sighed.  The tapping stopped.

                “Weiss.”

                “Yeah?”

                “I need a few days, okay? I’m sorry for lashing out at you.”

                A pause. “It’s okay. Just, do me a favor?”

                “Yeah?” she asked.

                “Don’t tell Adam? Please?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as you can tell, I'm planning on jumping back and forth between the characters for the time being. Next chapter is Weiss-centric, and will tie up the end of season one and cover much of season two.
> 
> Ilia, meanwhile, is tough, because of how much background I need to fill in here to get her up to speed. Hopefully it all read well. Moving forward, her story should be a bit more active, though there will still be reactions - like above - to events in Weiss's part of the story.
> 
> Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said back in chapter one that this was going to be relatively short?
> 
> Heh heh hehhhhhhh...

                “Don’t tell Adam?  Please?”

                The silence that followed worried her the most.

                She was leaving Blake’s fate – all of their fates – in the hands of a girl who believed she was done wrong.  And Weiss didn’t know how to process that.  Would she be able to talk to Ilia again?  Would she be trusted again?  Would she be able to…?

                The evening wore on, and eventually she resigned herself to her own fate and called it a night.  There was little more she could do, other than to give her bonded some space.  Weiss missed her greatly already.

                _It’s like a part of me is gone…_

                She got changed and climbed into bed, turning away from the quiet chatter of Blake and Yang.  She hoped that Blake would be able to tell Yang everything that they discussed tonight.  Yang deserved to know; she needed to understand and be prepared to fight when the time arises.

                Quietly, before passing out, she tapped her wrist three times.  She didn’t expect a response, and soon she was asleep.

 

* * *

 

 

                “Is Blake still talking to Ozpin?” Weiss asked Yang, joining her at couch in the headmaster’s office with a coffee in hand.  It was the next night, and the team was recovering from the dust theft they had just broken up.

                “Yeah.  Been over twenty minutes now,” Yang answered, looking at the door to Ozpin’s personal room.

                “I wonder who’s stretching this out.  She really has nothing to hide, right?”

                Yang shrugged.  “I just wish we had gotten to the pier sooner.  We would have been able to catch that Torchwick creep and stopped these dust thefts for good.”

                “I know,” Weiss said, reaching out and clasping Yang’s shoulder.  “At least we prevented a major one tonight.”

                Yang nodded.  “True.”

                “Have you heard from Ruby?”

                “She sent me a text from the hospital bed –” Yang held up her scroll, showing Weiss a picture of Ruby, laid up, but with her tongue out and fake ‘X’s through her eyes, “– looks like she’s all right though.  She said they’re keeping her for the night, as a precaution.”

                “Torchwick did a number on her, huh?”

                “Yeah, but she’ll be fine.  She’s smart; she’ll learn and adapt, that’s what makes her so great.”

                “I know.  She’s really good,” Weiss commented.  She let the silence lapse for a few moments before turning to Yang directly.  “How are you?” she asked.

                Again, Yang shrugged.  “We beat the bad guys.  I guess I’m good?”

                Weiss poked the blonde's head.  “Up here.  You’ve been the best support for us, but even you need a break every once in a while.”

                “It’s…” Yang sighed and scratched her head.  “I suppose I do need a break.  I’m doing good though, promise.”

                “Do you want snuggles?  I’ll be big spoon for once.”

                Yang burst out laughing.  “Never say that again,” she said through chuckles.  “But, yes, I can use some.”

                They rearranged themselves on the couch, with Yang laying back onto Weiss’s stomach and legs.  The heiress put one hand in the blonde’s hair, gently soothing her scalp.

                “Did Blake tell you?”

                “About Adam?  Yeah.”

                “What do you think?”

                “I can take him.  I just need to train a lot harder, understand his strengths and weaknesses, use them to my advantage.”

                Weiss nodded.  “She’s afraid of him.  It sounds like Ilia is too.”

                “How is that going, by the way?” Yang asked, turning her head and looking at Weiss from her peripherals.

                “We’re… fine, I suppose.  We argued last night though, about Blake.  She needs some time to think.”

                Yang nodded.  A cheeky grin formed on her face then: “Blake told me she’s cute.”

                Weiss shook her head, trying to fight the blush that was forming.  “I’m not having this conversation with you.”

                “Awww, you’re no fun.”

                “And don’t forget that,” Weiss retorted, sticking her tongue out at Yang.

                The blonde giggled.  “I think Blake has a picture.  You could always ask her to show it to you.”

                “I’m not going to do that!” Weiss stated.  “That wouldn’t be fair to her.”

                “You’ve never even attempted to contact her through scrolls?”

                Weiss shook her head.  She looked down at her left wrist, wishing painfully for a pulsed message to come through.  “Maybe someday, but for now… this feels more…”

                “Intimate?” Yang offered.

                “… Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

                “What is she to you?”

                “She’s –” Weiss was cut off by the sound of Ozpin’s personal room opening.  Blake stepped out, followed a few steps behind by the headmaster.

                “You two look comfortable,” Blake said, a smirk sliding onto her face.

                “The princess –”

                “Heiress.”

                “– offered, and I obliged her.  It’s done me some good too.”  Yang stood up, pulling Weiss with her.  All three of them turned to Ozpin.

                “You can all retire for the night.  It’s quite late anyway; I do apologize for keeping you for so long,” he told them.

                “Are we in trouble?” Weiss asked.

                “On the contrary,” Ozpin said, shaking his head for emphasis, “you’ve all done good work today, even if a known criminal got away.  You made yourselves known on the streets quite well tonight.  You should be commended, though I’ll handle that at another date.”  He directed them to the elevator and waved them off.

                 As the door closed, Weiss and Yang turned to Blake.  “Everything okay?”

                The cat faunus nodded.  “Yeah… I think so.  He understands the danger Adam and the White Fang poses.  I just hope he gives us the support we need.”

                They nodded and remained silent the rest of the way down.

 

* * *

 

 

                “Are you sure you can’t come with us to Patch?” Ruby asked, zipping up the duffle bag she was working on.

                “I’m sure,” Weiss replied.  “I wish I could though.”

                “Your dad that much of an asshole?” Yang asked.

                “Language!”

                “Sure, we can call him that.  I don’t like him, but he’s still my father, and I need to impress him in some form.”

                “Well, if you’d like princess –”

                “Heiress.”

                “– I could, I don’t know, punch that asshole once or twice for you?” Yang offered.

                “Yang!”

                Weiss smiled.  “I’ll remember that offer the next time he becomes a huge asshole.”

                “UGH!” Ruby shouted, throwing her hands in the air and stalking away.

                “She always like this when you curse?” Weiss asked.

                “Sometimes,” Yang answered, scratching the back of her head.  “It’s fun getting her all worked up, right Ruby?”

                “You suck.”  Ruby stuck her tongue out at her sister.

                “Fight me Rubes.”

                The sisters took a few steps away, glowering at each other.  Weiss looked on curiously, and barely noticed Blake moving next to her.

                “I’m sorry you can’t join us,” Blake offered.

                “I know,” Weiss smiled at her.

                “At least it’s only two weeks…”

                Weiss nodded.  “At least it’s only that.  I’ll keep in contact, don’t worry.”

                “Call on Remnantsmas, okay?”

                “Blake, I wouldn’t miss that call for the world!  Unless, you know, father grounds me for something stupid.”

                “He really is an asshole, huh?”

                “Blake!”

 

* * *

 

 

                “Weiss!”

                The heiress looked ahead, seeing Klein, the family butler, at the other end of the transport terminal.  She smiled, and quickly ran ahead to greet him.

                “How are you doing?” she asked as she embraced him.

                “Oh, doing quite fine,” he said, then sneezed.  His eyes changed color and he giggled.  “How are you?  It sounds like you’re doing quite well at Beacon.”

                “I am!”  She recounted a few tales of her teammates and her time at the academy as they exited the transport terminal.

                “Your teammates are bonded?” he asked as they reached the car.  “That’s really something!”

                “It is!  I’m happy for them.”  She closed the door to the backseat as Klein got behind the steering wheel.

                “What about you?” Klein asked, looking at her through the rearview.

                She glanced around the car, before moving up to behind the window separating the front from the rear cabin.  “Are we good?”

                “I inspect this all the time, Miss Weiss.”

                She nodded.  “I haven’t heard from her in almost three weeks.  I’m concerned.”

                “What for?”

                “… she’s White Fang.”

                Klein nodded grimly.  “And…?”

                “No, not yet.”

                “You should tell her soon.”  He looked ahead, changing lanes.  “One secret for another, right?”

                Weiss sighed as she relaxed in her seat.  “I know.  I’m afraid.”

                “She’ll know soon enough.  Beacon’s hosting Vytal this year, right?”

                “Yes.  And our team is on the fast track for the first-year entrants.”

                “It’s televised, you know.”

                Another sigh.  “I’ll tell her, when the time is right.  When she wants to speak to me again.”

                “It’s for the best,” Klein offered.

                “How’s father?” she asked, changing the subject.

                “He’s… well, nothing’s changed in your absence.  He’s still… your father…”

                She laughed, a welcome change from her gloominess moments ago.  “I suppose that explains everything.  And Whitley?”

                “The same.  They’re spending more time together in his office and out at board meetings though.”

                “He’s grooming him, isn’t he?”

                “That’s a fair assumption,” Klein said, pulling off the highway they were on.

                “They don’t know, do they?” she asked, holding up her wrist.

                “No.  I’m the only one.”

                “Thank you.”  She looked out the window, seeing her home in the distance.

                _Or is it a prison?_

                “Klein.”

                “Yes Miss Weiss?”

                “What if I were to… suddenly disappear one day?  Just go where my heart wants to go?”  She glanced up at Klein, his look thoughtful for a moment.

                “I would say ‘Good luck’, and ‘I hope you are happy wherever you are’.”

                She smiled.  “I’m glad.  You’ve been the second-best thing in my life.”

                “And the first?” he asked with a laugh.  Weiss held up her wrist again.  “Of course!”

                A few moments later, they pulled up to the gates of the manor and were let in.

                “Are you ready?”

                “No,” she replied.  “At least it’s only two weeks.”

 

* * *

 

 

                It wasn’t until dinner that night that Weiss saw her father.  She was seated at the table reserved for the family and guests, eating alone, when the door opened: Jacques walked in, trailed behind by Whitley, who Weiss noted had an extremely smug look on her face.

                _I don’t want to deal with any of this right now._

                She pushed herself up politely and pressed her skirt cleaning before turning to her family.  “Good evening, father,” she addressed coolly.

                Jacques paused, staring at her for a brief moment, before he continued on, sitting at the other end of the table.  He sat down, allowing Weiss to sit down and continue her dinner.

                “Why are you here?” he asked as a servant brought dinner to him and Whitley.

                “It’s the winter holidays,” she answered, giving him a somewhat strange look.  “You also requested my presence here for the holidays, correct?”

                He grunted in reply, instead focusing on his dinner.  _Maybe I could have gone to Patch after all,_ Weiss thought to herself.  She turned to Whitley, who looked over to her and asked: “How are your classes, older sister?”

                “Very well, younger brother,” Weiss said, pausing to finish a bite from her plate.  “I’m in the top three percent of my class.”

                “But not the top?” he inquired with a sly grin.

                “It’s hard to beat Pyrrha Nikos unless you are Pyrrha Nikos, Whitley.”

                “That sounds like an excuse to me.  Does it not father?”

                Weiss looked to her father; he remained fixated on his dinner, not really caring that his children were arguing.

                “What about you?  How are your studies progressing?” Weiss asked indifferently.

                “Better than yours, I imagine.  I’m getting closer to succeeding where you failed.”

                “So your marks in your private studies are greater than perfect?  That’s hard to believe,” Weiss retorted.

                “Believe it, dear sister.”

                “Whitley, while I studied and trained for years, you were failing miserably at basic mathematical comprehension.  What makes you think you’ve gotten better in the four months I’ve been away?  I hardly doubt that your ability to focus on a single word has improved.”

                “Does it matter?” Whitley replied testily.  “At least I’m not bonded to some stupid faunus.”

                “And at least I’m not an idiot like you.”

                “Stop, both of you.”  They both turned, seeing Jacques sitting up straight, his attention now turned towards his children.  “Whitley, learn some tact.”

                “I’m sorry father,” he said, turning his gaze down.

                “Weiss, apologize to your brother.”

                It took a moment for Weiss to understand what he said.  “Excuse me?  I believe he was the one who antagonized me, father.”

                “Apologize to your brother,” Jacques said, and Weiss saw his fury slowly flow onto his face.  “Or I will not allow you to return to Beacon.”

                Weiss was speechless.  Apologize for speaking the truth?  But she saw, the cold, calculating madness in her father’s eyes, and she knew she had lost.  Whatever control she thought she had, it was gone in an instant.  _It was a mistake coming here._   Slowly, she stood up, pressed her skirt, and turned to her brother.  “Whitley, I apologize for the way I spoke to you.”

                Whitley looked up, smirking.  “I accept your apology, Weiss.”

                “Where is your scroll?” her father asked.

                “In my room.  Why?”

                “I’m confiscating it for the duration of your stay.  You are not allowed to make or receive any calls while you are under my roof.  Understood?”

                “Understood, _father_ ,” she said icily, watching him as he backed his chair out and stood up.

                “One more thing,” he said as he walked up to her.  Weiss looked up and watched in slow motion as he brought his hand up and slapped her across the cheek.  It stung more than anything else, thanks to her aura absorbing the impact of the blow; still, being struck again unnerved her.

                “You do anything – ANYTHING – that goes against my family name one more time and I will pull you out of Beacon and ship you off to Atlas Academy.  Do you hear me?”

                “Yes,” she said, barely nodding.

                “You are to be the top student in class.  You are to be the leader of your team.  You will no longer fraternize with faunus, not while you wear my name.  You have until after the Vytal Festival to complete these.”  He walked past her and exited the dining hall.

                “Good work, _sister_ ,” Whitley said from behind her.  “Now he’s going to be mad for the rest of the week.”

                “Go to hell Whitley, or I’ll put you there myself,” she replied, stalking off to her room for the night.

 

* * *

 

 

                “Weiss.”

                The heiress shot up from her bed, looking down at her wrist.  She definitely felt that pulse.

                “Ilia?”

                “I’m here.  Where are you?”

                Weiss felt elated, laughing briefly and nearly crying.  Three weeks felt far too long.

                “I’m home, in Atlas.”

                “I figured.  I felt that slap.”

                “I’m sorry.  I should have warned you.”

                A pause.  “Don’t be, Weiss.  I’m sorry I’ve been silent for so long.”

                “Is everything okay?”

                “No…”

                “Do you want to talk about it?” Weiss asked, standing and walking to her door to make sure it was locked.

                “I… not yet.  I don’t know how to form it into words yet.”

                “That’s okay.  Just let me know when you’re ready.”  She paused a moment: “I’ve missed you.”

                “I’ve missed you too,” Ilia replied.  “I’m sorry.”

                “Stop saying sorry.  You’re here now.”

                “I’m… okay, yeah.”

                Weiss smiled.  She knew what Ilia was going to say: “I’m not there with you, but I wish I was.”  It was surprising to notice her not say that this time though.

                _I’m just glad she’s here now._

                “How is everything in Atlas?” Ilia asked.

                “Terrible,” Weiss answered.  “Father took away my scroll.”

                “Does he realize that you’re almost eighteen?”

                Weiss bitterly laughed.  “Probably.  He doesn’t care though.  I’m just a tool, quickly losing it’s worth to him.”

                “Does that mean…?”

                “Yeah.  He’s not going to pass the company on to me.”  She briefly recounted the events of the day, from her conversation with Klein to the dinner with her family.

                “That’s… Weiss, I’m so sorry.  I knew how much it meant for you to take over and make some real change.”

                “I know,” Weiss replied.  “I’ll think of something though.”

                There was a brief lull in the conversation, and Weiss used the moment to get more comfortable in bed.  As much as she hated the place, her bed was the one place she felt at ease.  The fact that there were no cameras or other recording devices in her room – and she checked thoroughly when she returned – helped her to be better relaxed.

                “He really took your scroll away?” Ilia asked.

                “Yeah, he did.”

                “What an asshole.”

                “Everyone agrees.”

                She almost felt Ilia laugh.  “How’s your team?”

                “They’re good.  I miss them though.  And it’s going to suck not being able to talk to them over the winter break.

                “I feel so alone, Ilia.”

                _This really is a prison_ , Weiss thought to herself.  She looked up around her room: the high rise white walls; the window that almost looked barred from the outside; the possibility of a lock being on the other side of her door to keep her in here.  _No one knows I’m here, and I’m all alone._

“I’m here with you Weiss.  Don’t forget that.”

                _Don’t forget that._

                Weiss smiled.  “I won’t.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “How’s Blake?” Ilia asked, a few nights later.

                Weiss put her hair brush down and tapped out her reply: “She’s good.  She’s concerned about what Adam will do, but she’s having fun.”

                “Is she happy?”

                “Yeah.  She has ‘Yellow’.”

                “That’s good.  I’m glad, though I’m not sure what would happen if I saw her again.”

                “What do you mean?” Weiss asked, making her way back to her bed.

                “I feel like I should still hate her, because she left me behind.  But, she also ran because she knew how dangerous Adam was.  I just… feel betrayed, I think.”  There was a short pause: “It might have been because I wanted to be by her side all the time.  She recruited me and helped train me, and in return I helped her with all sorts of things.  But I also think over time my feelings turned towards attraction to her.  Even with my bond to you and her knowing of her bond, I always felt… ‘what if…’?  I never pursued it, but I think it lingered, so when she went away the abandonment felt more personal than it should have, all because I wanted her.”

                “Ilia, I…” Weiss was at a loss for words.  Ilia liked Blake?  It made more sense now as she thought about it.  “How come you didn’t tell me this before?”

                “It was tough, I guess.  Having you on one end, and an actual person standing before me on the other.  And Blake is beautiful, as I’m sure you know.  I just…”

                Weiss tapped her response carefully: “Ilia, it’s okay, trust me.  I’m not mad.  Thank you for telling me this though.”

                “Sure, I guess.”

                Weiss giggled to herself.  “Never hold your words and emotions back, okay?  It’ll lead to all sorts of trouble.”

                “Sagely advice.  I’ll take it to heart,” Ilia told her.

                “Good.  And that’s your Weiss lesson for the day.”

                There was a short pause, as Weiss imagined Ilia laughing at her dumb joke.  It dragged on a bit longer, as she felt the hesitance in her bonded’s response: “Weiss… what if we never meet?”

                “Ilia, I will fight through a Grimm infested wasteland to find you.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “Hey.”

                “Hey, good morning Ilia,” Weiss said.

                “Merry Remnantsmas!”

                She smiled.  “And to you as well.  Did you get me anything?”

                “Hmm… I thought about a puppy, but I think your dad and brother would be abusive shits towards it.”

                “You’re absolutely right on that one!” Weiss replied with a laugh.

                “We can properly celebrate this holiday someday soon,” Ilia said.

                “Absolutely.  Someday I’ll be free from this madness, and we can celebrate everything.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “Are you almost free?” Ilia asked.

                Weiss looked at her calendar, with the circled date.  “Two more days.”

                “I’m glad.  I’m surprised he hasn’t done anything to you in that time.”

                It was true, Weiss realized.  Ever since that first night at dinner, she had, unfortunately, realized what her place was in this mess of a home.  She didn’t speak out of place; she didn’t engage in with her brother; she always replied “yes, sir” and “no, sir” when speaking to Jacques.

                She hated every moment of it.

                “What will you do at the end of the semester?” Ilia asked.

                “I won’t return home, that’s all.  I’ll go with my team somewhere, or I’ll come find you.  I’ll figure it out.”

                “I could always come to you.”

                Weiss smiled.  “That would be great.”

                There was a long pause after Weiss replied.  “Is everything okay?” she asked.

                “I’ve been putting this off, but I have to tell you about what’s happened.  Just so you know when you head back to Beacon.”

                “It’s okay.  Take all the time you need.”  Weiss set aside her packing and moved over to her couch.

                She sat down, relaxed, and listened to Ilia tell her story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a scene I started writing right after the concluding scene that was going to show up here originally, but it wouldn't have made sense with the cutoff here. It'll be rearranged and set for next chapter.
> 
> Prepare for drama!
> 
> Also, I do apologize for the sudden wheel spinning, but I needed to set a few pieces up for later down the road. Once Ilia's chapter is done I should be able to resume moving at ludicrous speed.
> 
> Until next update, take care of yourselves and each other.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ilia recounts the events of the last three weeks, and learns more about her soul mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guh!
> 
> Hi, sorry, it's been *checks notes* four months since I've added to this. We had a complete system conversion at work, and I was taking an online photography class that just wrapped up a week ago. Also I started a Monochrome story that will be short and I intend on finishing it during the course of writing this because this will take me a long time to finish.
> 
> And, oh, severe writer's block for this chapter because what the frack original content?
> 
> Well, at least I figured something out with Ilia.
> 
> As always: read, like, comment, sub, the works. Not the best of chapters but I feel going forward after this I'll have some good momentum. Enjoy.

                “Where should I start?” Ilia asked.

                “How about this: did you tell Adam?” Weiss tapped in response.

                Ilia didn’t hesitate in with her answer: “No, I didn’t.”

                “Okay… that’s, okay, good.”  A pause.  “I take it you were pretty conflicted about it?”

 

* * *

 

 

                Conflicted was the feeling Ilia felt nearly a month ago, as Weiss asked: “Don’t tell Adam? Please?”

                Ilia left the question hanging as she stared down at her wrist.  There, all this time, was Blake.  Blake!  Hidden in disguise as “Black” by Weiss!

                Oh, she should tell Adam this.  Blake the betrayer, the traitor, right where they want her.  Ilia stood up and made her way to her room’s door.

                She paused as she reached the doorknob though.  What good would it do?  Adam would have Blake, at the cost of what?  Everyone else Weiss is friends with?

                _I can’t be afraid of Adam._

                _But Adam would kill me if he found out you betrayed him._

_… would I rather die than let Weiss come to harm?_

                She stepped away from the door.  Slowly, she made her way back to her bed and sat down on it.

                This was far too much for her to deal with.  Blake was within her grasp!  But Blake is happy now, right?  Should she let her own sense of revenge take precedence over Blake’s newfound happiness?  She took away Ilia’s happiness by running away though!  She admired her!  And Blake tore out her heart!

                _Blake should die._

_No…_

_Blake should die._

_Weiss would… she would…_

                “ARGH!” Ilia shouted, slamming her mattress repeatedly.

                There was a knock on her door.  “Ilia?  You okay in there?” asked a male voice.

                “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered after a few moments.  “Just screaming into the void.”

                “Okay… if you need anything, just come on down to my room,” the voice responded.

                Ilia waited for the person to walk away before she collapsed on her bed.  She laid there, staring at the ceiling, before shifting her gaze to her left wrist.

                “Why is this so complicated?  All I wanted was to follow Blake to find you Weiss…”

                She curled into herself, resisting the urge to talk to Weiss again.  She just needed time, that’s all.  Time to sort out all of these feelings.  Finding work tomorrow would be a start, she realized.

                Soon she fell asleep, missing the three taps sent from Weiss that evening.

 

* * *

 

 

                “I wish you would have told me this sooner,” Weiss told her.

                “I know.  It was tough… I needed to clear my head and forget about everything happening at the other end of the world.”

                There was an extended pause, and Ilia wondered what Weiss was thinking about.  “Did that help?” Weiss eventually asked.

                “Not really,” Ilia responded.

                “Why not?”

                “Because of what I was asked to do, and what I found out because of it.”

 

* * *

 

 

                A week passed, and after two more recruitment cycles with no results, Ilia realized that she needed a change.  The complacency of the faunus on Menagerie was driving her mad, and she needed to stop attempting to enlist them into the White Fang or she would end up lashing out at someone.

                She found herself stopping at the home of the Albain brothers after the end of a rough day.

                “Greetings, Ilia,” Fennec said as he opened the door.  “What brings you here this evening?”

                “I wish to speak with Adam.  I feel like my talents aren’t being used to their fullest potential.”

                “I understand.  Adam is a difficult individual to reach nowadays, but we can get word out to him.”

                “Thank you, brother Fennec,” Ilia said with a bow.

                She received a message two days later, asking her to return to their residence.

                “Greetings, brothers and sister of the White Fang,” Adam addressed them as his holographic image came into view.

                “Greetings Adam,” Ilia responded.

                “I heard you are not having results in recruiting for the White Fang?”

                “That is correct,” she informed him.  “I feel like I’m being wasted here.”

                “I see.  It is a shame that our fellow faunus cannot grasp the importance of our work in creating a better future for our kind.  Once we achieve our victories, more will join us.  Do not worry Ilia.”

                “I will try not to,” she replied.  “But I’m growing impatient.  There is more I wish to do.”

                “Like what?” Adam asked.

                _Might as well tell him now._

                “I wish to assist the White Fang in Vale.”

                Adam frowned.  “As much as I wish to bring you here, I cannot at this time.”

                “Why not?”

                “Because I have a new mission for you at Menagerie.”

                Ilia blinked.  “What kind of a mission?”

                “Sienna,” Adam said, smirking.

                “Sienna Khan?  What about her?” she asked.

                “She’s informed the regional cells that she’s returning home to rest and recoup for the next White Fang advance.  I want you to… keep track of her activities for me, if you would.”

                Ilia exhaled, remembering to breathe.  _I don’t want to kill her…_   “How so?”

                “Just stay by her side: be an escort; be an ear; be… her maid, I guess.  But report to me anything that she says that’s relevant to our mission.  Understood?”

                Ilia nodded.  “I do.”

                _Is this the moves he intends to make?  Find reasons to usurp her as leader of the White Fang?_

                “Good.  Is there anything else?” he asked her.

                She was prepared to say no, but a thought struck her: Blake was in Vale.  Did Adam know?  She had decided before to not tell him – the risk was too great for everyone involved – but she needed to know for her own sake.  For Weiss’s too, now that she remembered her bonded.

                “I do have a question.”  He nodded for her to continue.  “The traitor, Blake… any word on her?”

                Adam tilted his head, slightly, looking away from her for the briefest of moments.  Hesitation, Ilia realized.  She couldn’t read his eyes behind the mask, but she could tell enough from his body language to realize that he was thinking of a response.  Adam knows, and that thought sent a chill down Ilia’s spine.

                “There are… rumors… but nothing concrete.  I do not know where Blake is.”

                _He lies to me._

                “When I find out though,” he continued, “I will inform you as quickly as I can.”

                “Thank you Adam,” Ilia responded.  “That is all.”

                _He lies to me._

                “Good.  I will talk to you again soon, once you have completed your mission.”  He disconnected the scroll connection, causing his hologram to disappear.

                “Spying for Adam?  This is a great honor,” Corsac said from behind her.

                “I know,” Ilia said, turning to make her leave.  _It will also get me killed._

                “Don’t forget your loyalties,” Fennec said, causing her to pause a moment.

                “My loyalties are to the White Fang,” she replied without looking back.

                She left the Albain’s home, preparing for the arrival of Sienna Khan.

 

* * *

 

 

                “Adam knows.”

                “He does,” Ilia confirmed.

                “I wish I could tell her now.  Fucking father…” she could hear Weiss grumble.

                “Tell her when you get back.  I don’t think he’ll do anything so close to Beacon.”

                “I hope so, for all our sakes.”  A pause, then, “What happened with Sienna?” Weiss asked.

                “She gave me a task as well… and took something away from me too.”

 

* * *

 

 

                A week later, the White Fang leader arrived at the port of Kuo Kuana, and Ilia was there to greet her.

                “Ilia!” the tiger Faunus exclaimed.  “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.  How have you been?”

                “Bored out of my mind,” Ilia said, smiling despite herself.  “It’s hard to recruit when people have no interest in our cause.”

                “My dear, I understand fully.  Sometimes we get so many faunus to join us, and sometimes… well, they’re content with the status quo.  But enough about that.  Let’s have dinner; we can catch up there.”  The two of them, surrounded by Sienna’s escort, wound their way through town.  There were many stops along the way – the crowd had come out to see Sienna, as she remained popular on Menagerie despite the Belladonna’s presence – before they came to a small, privately own restaurant.  The owner greeted them and showed them to a private booth, where they both settled in, protected a short distance away by Sienna’s guards.

                Together, the pair got each other caught up on current events: Sienna talked of recent gains in Vacuo; Ilia discussed the few recruits she managed to land in Kuo Kuana.  They each received a plate of food and ate, allowing Ilia to collect her thoughts on what she wanted to discuss next.  Adam’s mission could wait for the time being.  For now, she wanted to be selfish.

                “Sienna,” she said, putting her fork down.  “I wish… to be moved to Vale.”

                The White Fang leader shook her head.  “Out of the question.”

                “Why?” Ilia asked, defeated.

                “Because I might need you elsewhere.”

                “Elsewhere being?”

                Sienna dabbed her mouth with her napkin.  “Mistral.”

                “Why Mistral?” Ilia asked, confused.

                “Because of Lionheart,” Sienna said with a sigh.  “There are rumors of him selling his allegiance to some unsavory folks.  If that’s the case, I might want to buy him back.  He’s been good for faunus rights in some regards, but if he sells himself to anti-faunus people… well, we’re going to convince him otherwise.”

                “What does that have to do with me?”

                “You need to gather information,” Sienna told her.  “Blending into the shadows is your forte.  Finding out who is leveraging him should be our top goal.”

                Ilia nodded.  “How long is this mission?”

                Sienna shrugged.  “However long it takes?  It’s still in the early stages of planning.  I don’t want to put you or anyone else in unnecessary risk.”

                Ilia glance at her wrist.  _I should tell her…_

                “For now though,” Sienna said, stretching her arms over her head before patting her stomach, “I’m here to relax.”

                “That’s good.  I’ll be at your service as well if you need anything,” Ilia told her.

                Sienna smiled.  “Nah, you can relax too.  Even revolutionaries need a vacation.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “Adam is growing bolder,” Sienna told Ilia a few days later.  The chameleon faunus found the White Fang leader on one of the fishing piers in town and joined her there.

                “How so?” Ilia asked as she stared out into the sea.

                “He’s been recruiting quite well, probably the best out of all the regions in Remnant.  He’s not giving me specifics though.  I don’t know numbers, who he’s working with… nothing.”

                Ilia nodded.  “I talked to him, before you arrived.”

                “What did you discuss?”

                “We… I asked him about Blake, if he knows where she’s at.”

                “Does he?” Sienna asked.

                “Yes, but he didn’t tell me.  He lied to me.”

                Sienna looked troubled.  “This is concerning Ilia.  My top lieutenant, lying about a simple thing as to a traitor’s whereabouts.  This cannot go on.”  Sienna turned to Ilia.  “Blake can wait though.  Adam is our top concern.”

                “Should I go to Vale?” Ilia asked, hoping again to get the chance to go.

                Sienna shook her head.  “Adam will kill you if he finds out I sent you.”

                “Not even in secret?”

                “No.  It’s not worth the risk.”

                Ilia nodded.  _Sorry Weiss.  I’m trying though._   She looked at her wrist again.  It’s been too long, maybe…

                No.  She shook her head.  There’s too much happening here to get tied up in drama halfway around the world.

                “Is everything okay?” Sienna asked.

                “No… I’m just bored here,” Ilia replied, a truth and a lie all in one.

                “I’m sorry.  Just be patient a little while longer.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “You seem pretty insistent on Vale,” Sienna stated as they walked through Kuo Kuana a few days later.  “Is there a reason?”

                “There is,” Ilia whispered.  She looked around: the town was busy as always, even more so with Sienna Khan walking around, still attracting a crowd.  It wasn’t safe at all to speak openly about Weiss, not without complete ostracization.  But maybe she can get her away from the crowds?

                It made Ilia wonder as well: is Sienna okay with interracial bonding?  She had long listened to the hard liners amongst the faunus, like Adam, and knew that they would force her to reject her bond mate outright.  ‘Keep the faunus pure’ was a regurgitated response.  Would Sienna think the same way?  “Can we speak of this privately?” she asked.

                “We can,” Sienna said, allowing the chameleon to take the lead.  Ilia lead them through Kuo Kuana towards its western edge, finding a nearly secluded spot on the beach.  Sienna’s guards kept a watchful eye as the pair made their way to the water.

                “The reason I want to go to Vale so much,” Ilia started as the crashing waves hid their conversation, “is that my soul mate is there.”

                Sienna smiled.  A good sign, at least for now.  “Interesting.  How do you know?”  Ilia held up her right wrist, nearly tapping it in the process.

_Three weeks is too long…_

                “Ah, how resourceful,” Sienna quipped.  “Who are they?”

                “She’s a student at Beacon.”

                “A faunus girl?  That’s rare.  I’m so happy for you though!”

                Ilia couldn’t hide her grimace.  “It’s… a bit more complicated than that.”

                “What do you mean?” Sienna asked.

                _The moment of truth._   “My soul mate… she’s a human girl.”

                Ilia watched Sienna’s body language, knowing right away from her wide-open eyes and the stiffness of her limbs that the White Fang leader was not welcoming of the news.  Ilia tried hard not to show her fear, but she felt her skin shifting color, turning varying shades of green and yellow.  Sienna looked away from her, staring at some unfocused spot on the horizon.

                “I understand the need for secrecy now,” she said after far too long.  She sighed, then turned back to Ilia.  “I’m not entirely happy with this, especially with what we’re striving to achieve.  Is this girl sympathetic to our cause, at least?”

                “The cause… though not with our means.  We had an argument, and I haven’t spoken to her in some time.”

                Sienna nodded.  “It is… unfortunate… though nothing we can control.  The fates stuck us with soul mates, to ensure the survivability of all intelligent life on Remnant.  At least, that’s what some stupid human scientist wrote about one time.  It's what I may have believed at one time too, if we weren't fighting for our rights.”  She turned from the sea, her body facing the town.  Ilia saw, in the briefest of moments, a wistful look in Sienna’s eyes, like she was remembering the feeling of a bond from years ago.  It left as quickly, a coldness replacing her usual fire.  “As much as it pains me to say this, I cannot let you go to Vale.  Adam will kill you both, and I don’t want to lose you because you fell in love.”  Sienna glanced at Ilia: “You should do your best to forget this girl and never speak to her again.”

                Sienna walked away, leaving Ilia alone on the beach, crying alone with her anguish.

 

* * *

 

 

                “A few hours later, I felt the slap.  And, well… I couldn’t stay away anymore.  I missed you too much.”

                “Oh Ilia,” Weiss said.  It felt somber to the faunus.  “I'm so sorry.”

                “There's more.”

                “What do you mean?”

                Ilia took a breath, then tapped out: “The mission to Mistral is happening.  I leave in two days.”

                “How long are you going for?” Weiss asked.

                “I’m not sure.  Two months?”

                “That’s… not super bad.  Well, any longer than two months and we might have issues.”

                Ilia blinked.  “You’re not frustrated by this?”

                “Well, yeah, I am.  I’m looking at the long term though.  Two months from now is the Vytal Festival.  And two months after that is the end of the semester, and then I have three months of freedom.”

                “So what are you saying?” Ilia asked her.

                “You either finish your mission and get yourself to Vytal, or I’m coming to find you once I’m done.”

                “Are you serious?”

                “Dead serious.  There’s no way I’m returning to Atlas after this semester,” Weiss told her, and Ilia could feel the confidence in her response.

                Ilia herself felt elated, more so than she had in a long time.  She was going to meet Weiss.  She was going to meet Weiss!  She can finally see her soul mate and hold her and be with her and everything would be all right in the world, her own world.  No White Fang, no Adam, no asshole family members… just the two of them.

                A thought popped up in her head though: “What if I can’t make it to Vytal?”

                “Well, you can watch it on your scroll or a connected monitor.  I think it’s broadcasted everywhere through the CCT.”

                Ilia smiled.  “Are you okay with me seeing who you are before we meet?”

                “I am… though, there’s something important I have to tell you.  Something that… I should have told you a long time ago.  And it’s important for you to know this before we meet, before you see me fight in Vytal.”

                “What’s that?” Ilia asked.

                “My family name.”

                Ilia blinked.  And then she realized that, in their five years of talking, not once have they exchanged last names.  It was always “Weiss” or “Ilia”, and never “Weiss XXXXXX” or “Ilia Amitola”.  But there was something that made her worried what her name was.  She said she was an heiress to a major company, and that her father was a prick.  That could be anyone, really.

                _But she’s from Atlas… who are the big families in Atlas?_

                It came to her almost instantly.  Who else could Weiss be?

                _No…_

                “My name… is Weiss Schnee –

                _No…_

                “ – heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.”

                _No!_

                Suddenly, she was assailed with memories of that fateful day in the mines.  How the ceiling collapse.  How she managed to escape, despite her injuries.  How so many of her brethren died that day, because of an evil man running his poorly maintained mine, just so he could get his dust to market.  How she was suddenly whisked away, still barely recovered, and shipped off to Menagerie.  It was all because of her.

                _No, never her…_

                Why did she ever believe her?  Her family hates faunus!  She hates faunus!

                _No, she loves you…_

                They’re the ones responsible!  They’re the ones that made her an orphan.  They’re the ones that ruined her life and made her fight against them and now she’s bonded to one and why why why does everything bad happen to her?

                _Not Weiss… Weiss has been there for you all along…_

Has she?

                She felt a voice calling out her name.  Trying to bring her back.  “Who’s there?” she called out.

                _Ilia…_

_Ilia…_

                “Ilia…”

                Her wrist throbbed, stating her name in a low, steady voice.  “Ilia.

                “Ilia.

                “Ilia… come back to me…”

                “I’m here,” she finally responded.

                “Talk to me.”

                “Why does fate hate me?  Why has this happened?”

                “I don’t know Ilia.  Fate probably hates me too.”

                “But you’re a Schnee!”

                “In name only.  Fate gave me a shit father, a neglectful mother, an exiled sister, and a useless brother.  I doubt I’ll have an inheritance in three month’s time.  But you know what?”  Ilia felt her pause, gathering her breath.  “I’m going to fight against fate.  I’m going to take back what is rightfully mine, and no one – not my father, not my brother, not fate – will stop me.  I’m going to take this company and fix the cruelties that were made.  What I’ve learned… what I’ve learned, not just from you but from others, is that faunus rights are human rights.  You deserve the same rights I have, and no one should stop that from happening.”

                Ilia stared at her wrist for the longest time.  She never thought a Schnee would argue for faunus rights, yet here she was, bonded to one of them, and feeling it spoken, with a conviction unlike anything she’s ever felt from her soulmate before.  She didn’t know how to feel or react: joy, elation, pride… sadness… emptiness…

                It made her realize that she wanted to be with Weiss now more than ever.

                “Promise me you’ll do all the things you said,” Ilia tapped out.

                “I promise,” Weiss replied instantaneously.  “You’re worth it.”

                “Do you…”

                “Yes.”  She tapped three times.

                “Okay,” Ilia replied, smiling wide, relieved.  Why was she ever concerned?

                Weiss was there for her all along, even if she was thousands of miles away.

                She yawned, suddenly felt groggy, looked at the clock.  It was almost two in the morning.  How long have they been talking?  “Weiss… I need to sleep.”

                “I know.  It’s late.  Get some rest.”

                “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.  I won’t disappear like that again.”

                “Okay,” Weiss replied, and Ilia somehow felt her smile through their bond.  “And thank you for trusting me and keeping Blake safe.”

                “I…

                _Did I really keep her safe?_

                “Stay vigilant Weiss, okay?  Adam is planning something big.”

                “We’ll be ready for him.”  Then: “Good night Ilia.  Sleep well.”

                “You too.  I miss you.”

                “I miss you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to add: I finished this chapter hours after news broke of President 45 and his administration's latest attempt to erase transgender people out of existence. If you're wondering why Weiss got so political here... well, there you go. I don't take kindly to fascists deciding that my friends and family don't matter, and Weiss (at least this version of her being bonded to a faunus) was the perfect mouthpiece for how I was feeling.
> 
> Also, in case I don't update before November 6th: if you live in America and are of voting age, then vote. Get your friends, your loved ones, and vote. Vote out the fascists that threaten the lives of so many.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIrstly, thank you all for your comments. I know I thanked everyone individually but they all made my day when I read them, and I hope to continue creating a quality story for you to enjoy.
> 
> Secondly, and lastly, I did the whole "we're plowing through events" again, this time covering roughly the first half of season two. Enjoy!

                “Friends!  Other friends!  Weiss!”

                “Why am I being singled out?”

                “I present to you: best day ever!” Ruby exclaimed, dropping a huge binder onto the cafeteria table.

                “And is that my binder?” Weiss asked, staring long and hard at the white binder, filled to the brim with hastily hole punched paper.  “It’s definitely my binder,” she muttered.

                “You weren’t here Weissy,” Yang chirped from her side.  “According to Ruby, it gave her cart blanche to raid your school supplies.”

                “She’s barely passing anything!”

                “Actually…”

                “What, you’re helping her study Blake?”

                Blake shrugged.  “We both are.”

                Weiss looked between the two.  “I can see why you two make a great pair,” she said to them.  “Fine; Ruby can have the binder.”

                “Well, you have Ilia,” Yang said.  “I can see you two being super awesome as well, whenever you meet.”

                Weiss nodded.  The ‘whenever’ part, obviously, was still a long time from occurring.  She had to concentrate on the present: the new semester at Beacon.  Weiss returned there the day before, and after quick greetings, set to updating her teammates on what she learned from Ilia concerning Adam and the White Fang.  Blake, hearing this, reiterated the danger that Adam posed, though staying close to Beacon would keep them safe.  Their goal, she noted, would be to investigate the White Fang in Vale, and why they’re connected to Roman Torchwick.  Yang, being Yang, promised to train as hard as she could, to get ready for him.  And Ruby…

                “Ahem!  If I can have your attention,” she said, cutting into her teammates silent conversation.

                “Ah, right.  Go ahead Rubes!”

                “Now,” Ruby started, grabbing a chair and standing on it, commanding the attention of both her team and Team JNPR, “since classes resume tomorrow, we should have as much fun as possible today.  In this glorious binder of mine –” she waved her hand to demonstrate, ignoring Weiss’s pointed comments, “– I have written down over five hundred different fun activities we could do.  I know, I know; I don’t anticipate getting through all of them.  Maybe a few hundred?  There’s a lot we can roll together too!”

                “She’s always this charismatic, right?” Jaune whispered across the table.

                “Always,” Weiss replied.  “Let her be.”

                “So, in the spirit of participation, I’m going to pass out a stack of papers to each of you, and if guys can pick out a dozen or three dozen things from these lists, we can get our fun day going much –”

                “INCOMING!”

                The teams turned around, spotting a rogue pie flying from out of nowhere.  Pyrrha, quick to react, yanked Jaune out of the way; the pie flew by his head and continued unabated, slamming right into Weiss’s face, knocking her out of her seat and onto the ground.

                “Uh, is she okay?” Nora asked, leaning over the table, along with the rest of her team.

                Weiss shot up onto her feet and tossed the pie crust aside, leaving much of the pie filling and whipped cream piled on her face.  “Who did that?!” she called out, causing everyone in the cafeteria to stop and stare at her.  “I was having a great day and someone ruined my make up and now I’m PISSED!”

                The students started casting nervous glances at each other.  None of them were willing to speak up.

                “Well, fine.  Have it your way.”  She reached for a knife, and using it to amplify her powers, lifted a whole host of sandwiches, fruit trays, pies and cakes and cookies, and the like, into the air.

                “Weiss.”

                She looked down at her wrist.  “Hi Ilia,” she tapped back.

                “Where are you?  Aren’t you at school?”

                “I am.”

                “What happened?  Did someone slap you?”

                Weiss licked a piece of pie from her face.  “Lemon cherry pie.”

                “Wait what?  What’s going on?”

                “Let me get back to you.  I’m starting a food fight,” Weiss told her, before launching all the food across the room.

 

* * *

 

 

                “I’m surprised the headmaster isn’t going to suspend you for starting a food fight,” Ilia tapped out later that day.

                “I’m surprised too,” Weiss responded, combing out her hair post food fight shower.  “We totally destroyed the cafeteria.  Professor Goodwitch got it back in one piece but… yeah, we caused a lot of mayhem.”

                The fight itself, after Weiss’s initial volley, ended up pitting one half of the school against the other, which eventually whittled itself down to Team RWBY versus Team JNPR.  One by one each member of RWBY got knocked out, thanks to Pyrrha’s super effective semblance and Nora’s over reliance on overwhelming violence, until Ruby, petal burst power and all, singlehandedly defeated them.  Then the non-fun police arrived, and everyone pointed to Weiss as the troublemaker.  Ozpin arrived as well and just waved them all away to get cleaned up.

                “I’m glad you had fun.  A couple of those shots hurt though,” Ilia commented.

                Weiss frowned.  “Sorry about that.  Nora hits like a freight train.  I’m glad it was only a watermelon and not her actual hammer.”  She looked up at the time: almost seven, which put Ilia at close to midnight.  “Have you arrived in Mistral?”

                “I will in the morning.  The transport stopped for the night.  We rented rooms in a small village.”

                “Should I let you sleep?” Weiss asked.

                “That’s probably a good idea.  Though…”

                “Yeah?”

                “I’ll miss you waking up in the morning.”

                Weiss smiled.  They talked extensively the day after Ilia told her about Adam and Sienna; Weiss sitting on a plane traveling south and keeping her wrist covered as she tapped away.  They found out the time differences, going from the three hours that was Vale and Atlas to Kuo Kuana, to five hours from Vale to Mistral.  They knew it cut into their talking time, but they were used to the odd hours already.  They’d talk every day, as much as they could, though Ilia’s mission would make talking difficult at times.

                The pair decided as well, for secrecy sakes, to keep the specifics of Ilia’s mission to themselves as well.  Weiss understood, and knew that, while keeping her teammates out of the loop, she’d be able to reveal some of the details eventually, when Ilia’s task was completed.  Hopefully she’d be able to learn something that could help her and her team in the fight against Torchwick.

                “I’ll send something corny in the morning, like ‘Oh, I find your spots today to be so invigorating’, and, ‘Your eyes, why, I love them so’.”

                “I hate you Weiss Schnee,” came the deadpanned response.

                Weiss laughed.  “Get some sleep Ilia, and be safe.”

                Three taps.

                “You too.”

                Weiss leaned back, continuing to comb her hair.  “You know,” Ruby said, coming up beside her, “I’m glad you have someone that can make you smile and laugh as much as she can.  Even if it’s a little weird that you’re not saying anything verbally,” she muttered the last part.

                “Thanks,” Weiss said, putting her comb down and turning to Ruby.  “Well, you all do, you know that?”

                “I know.  But that someone special?  Ah!  It warms me sooooooo much!” Ruby squeaked.

                Weiss giggled.  “Glad I can provide those feelings.”  She made her way over to the desk, getting her school supplies set for the next day.  She paused a moment, before glancing back at Ruby: “Have you felt your soul mate?” she asked her.

                Ruby shrugged.  “Every once in a while.  It seems like they’re more on the clumsy than anything else, but I’m okay with that.  I hope they don’t mind the pain I put them through.”

                “I guess that’s the downside of being bonded to a huntress,” Weiss commented.  “Do you think you’ll ever meet them?”

                Ruby looked away for a moment, contemplating the question.  “Honestly, I’m fine either way.  I hope they’re as awesome as you guys… but I just want a friend, you know?  Like, I see what you have, potentially, and what my sister and Blake has, and I think: ‘Self, wouldn’t you like that?’  And then I realize… not really?  I can live vicariously through you guys, but I’m also fine with just being me.”  She looked back to Weiss.  “Does that make sense?”

                “It does Ruby.  Romance isn’t the only thing that results from a bond.  Platonic bonds have existed just as long.”

                “That good to know,” Ruby said, smiling.  She shifted, suddenly contemplating a different question: “So, um… do you really think you’ll meet her?”

                “Who, Ilia?” Ruby nodded.  “I really do,” Weiss told her.

                “What’s the first thing you’re going to tell her?”

                That was new, Weiss realized.  “I’m not sure,” she admitted.  “But… I’ll be happy when I do.”

                Ruby nodded again, seemingly satisfied.  She waved and climbed up into her bunk.

                And Weiss, now thinking about that last question, sat down at the desk and started writing down ideas.

 

* * *

 

 

                “I always thought I’d drop a pun,” Yang admitted the next day, as the team walked to class.  “But then, having Jaune thrown in your face completely changed that plan.”

                The team laughed, remembering that day when Yang and Blake discovered their bond.  “I was going to say something stupid too, about how you punch things all the time,” Blake told her.  “Nothing good came to mind though.”

                “What about now?” Weiss asked.

                “I’d know what Yang say,” Ruby spoke from the front of the team.  Keeping her voice down, she said, in her most Yang-like voice: “‘Oh, Blake, you’re so _purrrrrr_ -fect.’”

                Everyone stared at Ruby, who bowed and continued on her way to class.

                “Yang, I want a divorce,” Blake said, smirking, before walking away.

                “What?  No, kitten!  Come back!  You’re _paws_ -itively awesome!”

                Weiss remained rooted in her spot, silently questioning why she was with this team of misfits.

 

* * *

 

 

                “Are you sure?”

                Weiss heard Yang’s hushed whispered as she laid in bed, half awake and asleep.  Her sleep routine over the first week was all over the place, mostly because of the overwhelming amount of homework assigned for each of them.  Everyone save for Ruby was good, and everyone did their best to keep her up to speed with her assignments, but that resulted in some later nights than necessary.  Nothing to get completely stressed out about, she knew.

                Ilia was keeping quiet though, a bit too much for Weiss’s liking.  She checked in whenever she could, but the mission she was on kept her from talking extensively.  Couple that with the late-night study sessions and they hadn’t had much time to chat about anything.  It wasn’t the first time they’ve lacked communication, but it still made Weiss miss her all the same.

                “I’m sure,” came Blake’s quiet response.  They were likely sitting on her bed, or laying there, Weiss couldn’t tell.  They had been sleeping in the same bed together for a few months now.  Ruby, Weiss recalled, was surprisingly fine with that.  “Adam… he’s not one to mess around with.  He’s a fanatic… he’s cruel and dangerous, and he’s not someone I want to come across.”

                _Why were they talking about Adam?_

                “Could we take him together?” Yang asked.

                “Why are you always itching for a fight?  Do you not understand?!” Blake asked, exacerbated.

                “I understand Blake, I do.  But I can’t let someone like him go unchecked.  He needs to be brought down, whether it’s you or me or both of us, it has to be done.”

                There was a shuffling of blankets or a pillow, Weiss couldn’t tell.  “Just… we need to be careful about this.  You can’t go head first into a fight with him.  He’ll tear you apart.”

                “Okay… I’ll be careful,” Yang said, though Weiss could tell even with her hushed whispers that she wasn’t fully committed to being careful.  “Is there something we can do in the meantime?  Maybe we can discover his whereabouts in Vale?  Possibly flush him out?”

                “That’s not a bad idea.  Having the Atlesian military in Vale could at least keep us safe if he does show up…”

                “What about the White Fang in general?  Didn’t Weiss say something about them recruiting heavily here?” Yang asked.

                “She did,” Blake confirmed.  “Maybe we can infiltrate a meeting.  Well, I can do that.  You, on the other hand…”

                “What, me?  You don’t think I could pass for, say, a dragon faunus?”

                Weiss, even with her back turned, knew the look Blake was giving Yang at that moment.  “No.”

                “Aww… you’re no fun, Blakey.”

                “It’s dangerous, Yang.  If you get caught at one of these rallies, there’s no telling how hurt you can get.”

                “But –”

                “Your semblance can only do so much.  If your aura goes, you’re pretty much done.”

                “I… yeah, you’re right.”  A pause.  “What’s the plan, then?”

                “We’ll talk with our teammates tomorrow, figure it out then.  I want to sleep.”

                “Okay,” Yang said, stifling a yawn.  “Come here.”

                There was more shuffling in the bed, and Weiss imagined Yang being the one to hold Blake, though she’s seen once or twice Blake holding Yang – the height difference was minute at best.  There were murmurings after that, nothing Weiss could pick up, and soon her teammates were passed out.

                Eventually, Weiss fell asleep, thinking of her part in their own mission.

 

* * *

 

  

                “Okay, so are we all in agreement?” Ruby asked.

                The team, after lunch and classes the next day, reconvened in their room to discuss their plan for infiltrating the White Fang in Vale.  It was a simple enough plan, though parts of it were wrought with some danger.  Blake's was the most difficult part: finding and getting into a White Fang rally.  She knew from previous experience that nights were the best time for recruitment rallies, and she didn't expect that to change at all.  She still had a few of her Grimm masks from her days with the Fang, so she wouldn't have a problem getting in.  Yang had her informants throughout Vale, so a shake down or two were in order.  Weiss, while she still had access to the Schnee Dust Company's files, would conduct her own research, see who or what was funneling money or moving dust for Torchwick.  Ruby, lastly, was to be the rally point for the team, coordinating positions and getting everyone moved around where they needed to be.

                All in all, a solid plan, by Weiss’ s estimation.  At least, until…

                “We can help!”

                The girls shrieked, jumping away from the window. Hanging upside down, on the tree branch close to their window, was Sun. He waved, like nothing was wrong with him hanging from outside their room.

                “How'd you get up here?” Ruby asked, kind of amazed.

                “Um… I climbed?  Neptune's here too, though he's scared of heights, so maybe you can let him in now?”

                The girls looked outside of their window, seeing the blue haired boy pressing as much as he could against the wall.

                “A little help?” he squeaked.

                The team, against their better judgment – and not wanting to let the poor boy fall to his death – let Sun and Neptune into the room.  Ruby and Blake talked to them about the plan, leaving Weiss and Yang off to themselves.

                “They're quite cute,” Yang commented, rubbing her chin. “Especially Sun.”

                “Your soul mate is standing ten feet away,” Weiss whispered back to her. “You're pretty shameless.”

                “Says the girl who can't keep her eyes off the new guy.”

                “That…”

                Well, she wasn't wrong, Weiss realized. Neptune was certainly an attractive teen, and someone that she would have fancied at some point if she'd been allowed to date in Atlas.  But, there was Ilia… and she wouldn’t want to do anything with another person without her soul mate’s approval.

                Best to just keep it to undressing with the eyes then, Weiss concluded.

                “Okay!” Ruby exclaimed, bringing everyone’s attention to her.  “The plan remains the same, but because of the dangers prevalent in this mission, this is what we’re doing: Sun is teaming with Blake, since they can infiltrate the rally together undetected.  Neptune is going with Yang, and,” Ruby paused, sending a look towards her sister, “I know you can handle this yourself but a little bit of extra… muscle?  Is this muscle?” she asked, poking Neptune’s arm.  “Anyway, I want you two to pair off because it’s a good idea.  Got it team?”

                “Aye aye, Captain Rose!” Yang saluted.  Everyone else followed suit in agreeing to the plan.

                As the meeting broke, Weiss saw Blake making her way over.  Her eyes were all on Yang, and they had a different look than before.  She paused in front of her bonded, and Weiss saw a brief, silent conversation that occurred between them, before Blake moved on, towards the bathroom.

                “What was that about?” Weiss asked.

                Yang grinned.  “My kitty is a bit feisty today,” she replied.

                “I… I’m just going to my bed.”

                Weiss walked away, not wanting to be part of that conversation any longer, and instead, hoped to get into a different one.

 

* * *

 

 

                “Be careful,” Ilia told her.  It was the day of their mission, and while Weiss’s part was the least dangerous, she expected some sort of action.

                “I will… eventually,” she answered.  For now, she was in the CCT tower, sitting, bored, staring at documents and pictures scanned in from the Schnee Dust Company computers, hoping to find an answer to the question of who was funding Roman Torchwick.

                “Have you found anything?”

                “So far, nothing.  I didn’t expect my father’s company to be this useless.  Torchwick’s been stealing Schnee Dust for months!”

                “Good.”

                Weiss looked down at her wrist, ready to send a retort, but stopped.  They haven’t talked much about the SDC, not since Weiss revealed herself as the heiress to the company.  It was a conversation they were likely to have at some point, but now wasn’t a good time.

                For now: “I… supposed it’s deserved.”

                “Sorry,” came the reply.  “I know you still want to help, but your father is terrible, and I want every bad thing to happen to him and his company.”

                Weiss chuckled.  “I completely agree with that.  He wanted to talk to me just now, but I ignored him.  I have more important things to do.”

                “I hear you.”  A pause, and then Ilia continued.  “I wonder if Adam is working with Torchwick.  That would be a new low.  He hates humans.”

                “Not if the human hates humanity just as much,” Weiss tapped in response.  She contemplated the implication of that: would Adam really do that?  Between Ilia and Blake, everything mentioned of Adam alluded to the fall of humanity.  It bothered her even more if someone like Torchwick would assist in such a goal.

                “I wish I could report this to Sienna.  She would immediately dismiss him from the Fang.”

                “This is only a hypothesis.  I still don’t have anything concrete,” Weiss informed her.

                “Keep looking then.  I have to go for now; the next guard rotation is happening soon.”

                “I understand,” Weiss said.  “I’ll try and stay out of trouble, but I might be seeing some action tonight.  I’ll prepare you for it.”

                “Thank you,” Ilia told her.  “Stay safe.  I will too.”

                Weiss smiled.  “You took the words right out of my fingers.”

                She imagined a chuckle from Ilia.  “You’re hilarious,” the faunus confirmed for her.

                Then: three taps.

                “You too Ilia.”  She clicked back to the computer.  “Now, let’s see what kind of trouble I can get myself into.”

 

* * *

 

 

                The trouble, Weiss discovered, involved Roman Torchwick, a stolen Paladin armor suit, a potentially dangerous sidekick, and several million lien in damage on the intercity highway system.  Team RWBY, along with a minor assist from Sun and Neptune – who disappeared, mysteriously, at some point during the fight and failed to check in with them – were able to defeat Roman and destroy the Paladin, but before they could apprehend him, they vanished, due to what they believed was the sidekick’s semblance.  After catching their breath, they returned to the highway and began assisting the rescue services in helping people from their vehicles.  Luckily, no one was too injured from Roman’s wanton destruction, and the team went home, at least partly satisfied in their mission.

                The next few days, however, proved disconcerting for the team.  Most notable was Blake, who, without much sleep, spent whatever free time she could conducting her own research into the White Fang’s recent activities.  She had the most difficulty in grasping why the Fang would be working with and recruiting for a human like Torchwick.  Any attempt to get her away from her investigations pushed the cat faunus further away from the team.

                This affected Yang negatively, because she had no clue how to get her partner to see reason.  Anything she attempted was rebuked.  Add in the responsibility of organizing the upcoming dance – a responsibility heaped onto her a mere week before the event – and Yang was feeling herself reach her emotional limit.

                That left Ruby and Weiss to pick up the pieces.  The team leader didn’t have a clue about dances – “Do I really want to dance with someone?  Ew!” – and opted to seek out Blake, at least to get the cat to chill for just one minute.  Weiss ended up assisting Yang, eventually taking over the whole organization of the dance just days prior to the event.  Thankfully, her planning skills, learned over the years from her father, were put to good use, and she was able to get everything needed for the dance with thirty-six hours to spare.

                That left her, not thankfully, time to mull over just who to bring to the dance, if she was going to bring anyone.

                “You should ask that Neptune guy,” Yang commented as they were putting the finishing touches on the decorations.  “You were making those googly eyes at him.”

                Weiss sighed.  “I’m not considering him…”

                “Really?”

                “Really.”

                “Really really?”

                “Ugh, you’re so annoying Yang!” Weiss exclaimed.  “I haven’t even talked to Ilia about this.”

                “Who, Neptune?  You should,” Yang offered.  “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.  It’s just one night, so you could have a little fun with friends, or with a blue-haired stranger, and then go back to endless afternoons of chatting with your girl once it’s done.”

                Weiss just stared on, incredulous.  She wouldn’t, she couldn’t do that.  She wouldn’t do that to Ilia.

                But…

                What would Ilia tell her?

                The curiosity got the better of her as she walked back to the team’s room, tapping out: “I’ve told you about this dance, right?”

                “Several times, yes.  It sounds like fun.  Go to it.”

                Weiss smiled, albeit nervously.  Ilia sounded impatient, or tired, or both.  “What if…” she sighed; she had to get this through.  “What if I asked someone to go with me?”

                “Like a teammate or someone else?” Ilia asked.

                “… someone else.”

                There was a delay in the response, much too long for Weiss’s own sanity.  She didn’t want to force an answer though.

                “Sure.”

                “Sure?  Are you sure?”

                “Yeah, it’s fine.”

                “Ilia?”

                “Weiss.”  There was a pause, a sigh, Weiss imagined.  “You’re there to learn, but you’re also there to have fun.  I don’t want you to think you can’t have any fun because of someone connected to you on the other side of the world.  I appreciate you telling me, and I’ll do the same if it ever arises.”

                “Thank you, Ilia,” Weiss said.

                “It’s okay.  I’m also tired and I really need to pass out.”

                Weiss chuckled.  “Sorry.  I just wanted to tell you… well, ask you.”

                “It’s fine, really.  Anyway, who is this person?”

                “His name’s Neptune.”

                “A boy?  Ew!  Weiss, I thought you had standards!”

                “He’s a good-looking guy!” Weiss defended, laughing out loud, gaining the attention of her teammates briefly.  She shot them a look, causing them to shrug and look away.  “Also, I kept getting pestered by Yang and it was pissing me off.”

                “You want me to kick her ass?”

                “Ilia, I don’t think I want to remove your body splatter from the wall after fighting with her.”

                “Ouch.  You wound me Weiss.  You really think I can’t handle myself against her?”

                Weiss smiled.  “Not if you’re a boxer in disguise.”

                “… I’m not a boxer in disguise, you got me there.  Doesn’t mean I can’t take her on.”

                “Okay!  Okay!  Just… don’t challenge her to an arm-wrestling match or anything like that.  Don’t want you to lose an arm.”

                “I appreciate your concern.  Now let me sleep.”

                “Okay Ilia.”  Three taps.

                “You too Weiss.”

                The heiress looked up, seeing her teammates staring at her again.  “Well?” Yang asked.

                “It looks like I can have a date to the dance.”

 

* * *

 

 

                “This dance sucks.  I should have asked you, Ruby,” Weiss said, probably for the tenth time that evening.

                After her conversation with Ilia, Weiss went out and found Neptune wandering around campus, and, being Weiss, walked up to him and asked him to the dance.

                He rejected her.

                “I probably would have said no as well,” Ruby offered.  “Well, we could have danced in circles or something, but I’m not interested in that.  Also, my heels are killing me!”

                “I can’t believe he said no.”  He didn’t even offer a reason too, she realized.  What a fool!

                “Guess there’s no sympathy for my feet,” Ruby muttered.  “Want something to drink?”

                “Spiked punch.”

                “So water, gotcha.  Coming right up!”  Weiss watched Ruby walk away, leaving her to her own devices by the wall, with the chairs.

                The reject chairs, she realized, seeing Jaune there.  Wait, why was Jaune there?

                “I… well, I’m not an actual reject,” Jaune answer her question a moment later.  “Pyrrha is just taking care of a few things.”

                Ah, that’s right.  They finally figured out their bond a couple weeks ago.  Well, Pyrrha knew, but Jaune, according to Nora, had zero clues at all.  How could one person be so patient?

                Whatever, Weiss decided.  She could be all alone with herself, at least she had Ilia to talk to.

                Actually… she didn’t, she remembered.  Tonight was an infiltration mission, where she was going to attempt to get some major information.  The weeks Ilia had spent studying the layout and patterns of Haven Academy and their defense perimeter was finally being used.  “Have fun at the dance.  Just… try not to hurt yourself or anything, okay?” Ilia had asked her.

                “I clearly won’t now,” she muttered, taking a seat and staring out at the dance floor.  She noticed a lot of the students mingling about, with only a few dancing.  Yang and Blake were having the time of their lives – Weiss was happy that the cat faunus realized how much damage she was causing to herself and her team and took a break from researching – and they even let Sun in on their parade.  The three of them were the most energetic group there.

                Until Team JNPR took the dance floor, and Weiss watched them all dance their hearts out, performing a perfectly sequenced routine that started getting the energy going in the auditorium.  She thought it funny how it only took these seven rabble-rousers to get the place jumping.

                Except for Weiss, who now decided that maybe she should join them as well.  As she stood up, she heard a throat clear next to her.  She turned, finding Neptune standing there, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, looking anywhere but her.  “Hi,” he said meekly.

                “Hey,” she replied.  “What’s up?”

                “I’m… I’m sorry I turned you down yesterday.  It was for a really dumb reason too.”  He looked at her, some of his confidence returning.  “I’d like to make it up to you.”

                Weiss smiled.  “Sure,” she said, extending her arm out.  “It’s not a slow dance right now, but I can accommodate.”

                “Oh, that’s good.  I’m a terrible dancer all around!” Neptune admitted.

                “Is that why you said no?  That really is a dumb reason!” she said, laughing.  Neptune laughed as well, before taking her arm and leading them to the dance floor.  They found most of their friends and started dancing with them, mainly just jumping and throwing their hands around.  It was joyful and fun, and Weiss was having the time of her life.  She wished Ilia was here with her, mindlessly flailing to pop music, singing along with her friends, then, eventually, a slow ballad had come along, and she would find herself in her soulmate’s arms, slowly swinging back and forth through the dance floor.  She imagined herself leaning her head against her shoulder – Ilia was probably taller than her, why hadn’t she asked about her height before? – and taking in the scent of her hair – lavender?  Or a vanilla tone? – and just relaxing in her arms.

                It would have been perfect.

                Right now, she had Neptune.  He wasn’t bad company, she decided.

                Just not the person she wanted the most.

                Halfway through the couple’s dance, she noticed something off though.  Ruby had disappeared.  That, in and of itself, wasn’t unusual, but Ruby does tend to stand out, especially here.  She looked over to Yang and Blake – and Sun, such a curious group – and they didn’t seem to notice their leader’s disappearance.  She broke away from Neptune slightly, trying to look around better.

                “What’s up?” he asked.

                “Can you see Ruby?”

                Neptune started looking as well.  “Not sure.  There’s a lot of people here.”

                She nodded.

                Then she felt a blunt pain in her ribs.  She hissed some, and instinctively reached for it.

                “You okay?” Neptune asked.

                “…No, I’m not.”  Suddenly, another pain, ribs again.

                Then her face felt like it was thrown into a wall.

                “Ah!” she cried out, grabbing her face.

                “What’s wrong?”

                “Weiss!  What’s going on?”

                “Is it Ilia?”

                _No…_

                She tapped, repeatedly.

                “Ilia!”

                “Ilia!”

                “ILIA!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey notes!
> 
> 1) Hee hee hee... >:D
> 
> 2) Okay, I'm not a Sunnybees kind of shipper, but... okay, still not one. Just wanted to have some fun. Bumblby is the OTP. Fite me.
> 
> 3) I'm not 100% on ace/aro, so pardon any mistakes regarding how I wrote this here. I do view Ruby as that. Which leads to:
> 
> 4) If you haven't noticed, not everyone in the main story is going to find their soul mates. Well... fuck, almost everyone already did. OKAY IGNORE THAT ONLY RUBY
> 
> AND MAYBE SUN
> 
> AND QROW, CAUSE HE'S MISERABLE AND PROBABLY WOULDN'T WANT ANYONE CLOSE TO HIM WITH HIS SEMBLANCE
> 
> J/K I love them all
> 
> So, I hope everyone enjoyed. Do the usual, and I'll see you guys soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ilia's mission goes south.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahoy! I know, I left you guys hanging for four weeks, but let me tell you how hard it is to write original, non-main storyline content.
> 
> SO. EFFING. HARD. I had to rewrite the second half of the chapter twice! And I still don't think I'm completely satisfied.
> 
> But, I think I made it work. Here we go!
> 
> Also, a general side note: be careful in the comments when talking about the new season of RWBY. Not everyone here is First Watch members on Rooster Teeth, so be careful with spoilers. It's enough that YouTubers are being butts and spoiling shit left and right. I'd very much like to avoid that here. (Side side note: obviously okay if someone wrote a story that takes place during an episode that just came out, but not okay if it's, ie, an high school AU and "hey this [REDACTED] happened!" At which point you get the Hard Stare.)

                This was not how it was supposed to go.

                Ilia had planned her infiltration of Haven Academy perfectly.  She knew the guard routes and rotations.  She knew the best entrances and exits the main administrative building.  She knew the layout of the building.  She knew where Lionheart’s office was, the arrangement of the room.

                She knew what he ate for dinner every night.

                This was not how it was supposed to go.

                Ilia ran her route perfectly.  She stuck to the shadows.  She threw diversions when she needed to.  She cleared the open-air courtyard like a champion and got inside the administrative building with ease.  The halls that were expected to be empty were empty.

                This was almost too easy.

                This was not how it was supposed to go.

                She rounded a corner a little too fast – foolish, should have rechecked her schedule – and immediately came upon two guards.  Why were they here?  Shouldn’t they be elsewhere?  They were as shocked as she was to be here.

                It was too late now though.  She either had to push through or escape.  Both guards were taller than her and looked properly intimidating.  Disable and run, that was the new plan.  She flashed her sword out from her hip, shocked one of the guards instantly.  Down but not completely out, she’ll worry about that in a moment.  The other guard came at her, much quicker than expected, jabbed her in her right side.

                Damn, that hurt a lot.

                She kicked back, left her defenses down, and her other side got busted.  Did a couple ribs crack there?  She was wheezing.

                She didn’t see the fist smashing into her nose.

                Ilia fell back, taking a knee, blood running down her face, hitting the floor.  Okay, broken nose, not good.  Nothing her aura couldn’t fix if she could just concentrate and get out of here.  She looked up, expecting a punch, but instead the guard lifted her up and grabbed her around her neck.  Ah, they’ve got a strong arm.  Maybe thirty seconds before she passed out?  She had to think quick.

                Her name shouting from her wrist at least gave her a push.

                Somehow, her sword remained in her hand.  Oh, this was going to hurt.  Ilia wrapped the sword around the guard and turned the shock to full bore.  They felt it.  She got some of it too.

                Sorry Weiss, I’ll apologize for that one.

                They both fell, coughing, trying to catch their breath.  Ilia was first to her feet.  She shocked the guard again for good measure, then kicked them across their head.  Hopefully knocked out.  She looked to the first guard, almost back to their feet, reaching for a radio.  She got as close as she could – dammit, everything was hurting – and shocked them again, but not before they got a few words in about an intruder.

                Well, shit.

                She needed to get out.  The guards would be moving in on her location.  Options now: find a room with a window, get out that way.  She stumbled through the first door that was available: success, a window, and not even locked!  Well that would have been a better option to take ten minutes ago.  She closed the door behind her, lucky that it had a doorknob to jam up with a chair.  One chair in place.  A desk for good measure.

                The voices got louder in an instant.

                There was no more time to waste.  She got to the window, pulled herself up and out, her ribs groaning under protest from the exertion.  Breathing through her mouth didn’t make things any easier.  She looked down into the courtyard, seeing guard movement, but no one looking towards her.  Good so far.  She focused on the building itself, noticed enough ledges and grips to move around and get to another building, at least away from the buildup of the guards.

                She got out and started moving, keeping flat against the building, willing herself to ignore the pain burning in her chest.  She climbed past one window, then another, then another.  Time to move down.  Down one window, then another.  There was a roar in the distance.  Was that a police flyer?

                Well, shit.

                Her name pounding in her wrist kept her moving.

                She needed to get away from the administrative building.  A few more windows to go.  The guards were focused elsewhere.  Did she have help somewhere?  She didn’t think so, but at least it gave her a chance.  She found purchase on the ground, hid behind a bush for a few moments, searching for her escape.  Across the courtyard, an alley?  Ten seconds max?  The ribs weren’t helping, but she had to fight through it.  Glance left, glance right.

                Clear.

                Ilia bolted, crossing the courtyard as quick as she could.  The flyer got closer.  Were there shouts?  Was she spotted?  She kept running, pushing into the alley.  It was dark.  She made herself darker.  She looked back.  Was there anyone?  She did not want to chance it.

                Keep moving Ilia.

                She ran, moving between alleys, staying in the dark, until she was far enough away to only hear a buzzing of commotion from the administrative building.  She needed to stop for now though, give her ribs and face a chance to mend itself.  Was there an open window or door?  She looked around, lost in the alleys of Mistral.

                Off to the side, Ilia spotted a window into a shop, its’ lights out.  Perfect.  She climbed through, gingerly, before landing on the floor.  She locked the window, then made her way to the door.  She was in a kitchen.  Even better, but to make sure the coast was clear.  She pulled the door open and peeked through.

                No one.  Relief.

                Ilia barricaded the kitchen door, to make sure no one attempted to get through.  Slowly, she made her way to the ice box, grabbing a towel along the way.  She tied some together and put the towel on her face, before sitting down, finally getting a chance to breathe.

                “Ilia.”

                “Weiss,” she finally tapped back.

                “What’s going on?  Are you okay?  What happened?” she asked.

                Ilia laughed, and it hurt.  “I messed up.”

                “Clearly,” Weiss replied, and Ilia could only imagine how mad she was.  That shifted quickly.  “Are you safe?”

                “For now, yes.  I need to get off the highest level, get back down to the lower level of Mistral, blend back in.  I need to heal though.”

                “How are the ribs?  That must have hurt.”

                Ilia didn’t want to look, at least not here.  “Probably cracked.  The aura should cover it, I hope.”

                “It better.  I’m not losing you to broken ribs.”

                Ilia smiled, and it didn’t hurt.  “I’m sorry if I ruined your dance.  I didn’t expect to fuck up like I did.”

                “Don’t be.”  A pause.  “Blake just asked if you were all right.”

                “Did you tell her anything?”

                “No.  I’ll wait until you give me the go ahead.”

                Ilia nodded.  “Let me heal first, so you can feel better.  Where are you at?”

                “Outside of the auditorium.  I’m with Blake.  Something happened to Ruby though and Yang ran off to investigate.”

                “I hope everything is okay there.”

                “I hope so too.  Please be careful, okay?”

                “I will,” Ilia told her.  “I’ll let you know when I get moving again, or if I’m in danger, just in case I have to fight again.”

                “Thank you.  Oh, and Ilia?”

                “Yeah?” she said.

                “The bag of ice feels nice,” Weiss answered.

 

* * *

 

 

                Ilia stayed in the restaurant for several hours, icing her face several times over that period.  She was glad to discover that it wasn’t broken, just badly bruised, and that breathing through her nose wasn’t too difficult.  Her ribs, on the other hand, weren’t so lucky, and no amount of aura recovery could heal them.  She pulled her catsuit down, looking at her left side as best she could, and found purple splotches all along it.  There was no way of telling if her ribs were cracked or broken, not at least until a doctor could check her out.  There was no luck to be found in the upper ring of Mistral, though, and probably none on the bottom either.

                Still, Ilia iced as much as she could, trying to dull the pain.  Weiss, on her end, started icing her ribs as well, to provide some measure of help when Ilia had to move again.  That had to be soon; it was after four in the morning, and she was expecting the restaurant’s owners to arrive within the hour to start morning prep.  She scoured their first aid section, rummaging through it until she found some gauze wraps.  Ilia wrapped them around her damaged ribs as tight as possible before zipping her catsuit back in place.  She found some pain medicine as well and swallowed them without water, retching at the taste but pushing through it.  She needed to get out of Mistral alive, and foul-tasting medication was the least of her worries.

                “I’m heading out,” she tapped out.  “Hopefully the ramp back down isn’t swarming with police.”

                “Hopefully,” Weiss replied, “but be vigilant.  I doubt they’ve given up just yet.”

                Ilia smiled.  Always looking out for her, that Weiss.  “I’ll be on guard.  Can you keep the ice going?”

                “Yeah, that won’t be a problem.  Focus on getting yourself to safety.”

                “Aye aye, captain!” Ilia exclaimed, before climbing through the window.

                “That’s ‘aye, aye, second-in-command’ to you, nerd.”

                “Captain sounds better,” Ilia replied.  She landed and looked around: no one in sight.  The administrative building was well behind her.  The only direction she had to go was down.  She stuck to the darkness of the alleys as a precaution, though there weren’t any citizens out at this time.  There was the occasional guard, milling about on duty, but Ilia, even with her busted ribs, slipped by him.  At one point, she came across several clothes lines attached to the Mistrali homes.  She found a hooded robe and pulled that on, covering her catsuit and keeping herself concealed.  She let her hair down as well – maybe they forgot her face and only recognized her by clothing and hair? – before she marched on.

                Ilia eventually came upon one of the main ramps connecting the upper level and the middle level of the city.  She hid behind a building and looked out; from there, she counted a half dozen police blocking the ramp.  She ducked back down.  “There’s a lot for me to handle,” she tapped to Weiss.  “I might be stuck here for a while.”

                “Are there any other ramps close by?” Weiss asked.

                “Probably a kilometer away?  I’m not sure.”  She pulled out her scroll and tried turning it on – nothing.  “My scroll is dead too.  Shit.”

                “Hang on, let me see if I can load a map on my end.”  Ilia sat and waited, occasionally looking out, studying the guard’s movements.  There wasn’t a particular rhyme or reason to them: two remained stationary, while the two closest and two further from her walked around, either to keep an eye out or to stave off boredom.  Maybe she could use the latter to her advantage…

                “Okay… according to the map, there are around ten total ramps that connect down from around where you’re at to the next level, and they’re spaced roughly half a kilometer to a kilometer apart.  Not sure what the closest one is to you… are you east or west?”

                “Erm… south I think?”

                She waited a moment for Weiss’s reply.  “There’s a couple close to each other.  You want to take a chance at one of them?” Weiss asked.

                “No… I’m exhausted as it is with these ribs.  I think I can distract these guards though and make a move.”

                “Okay… be safe Ilia.”  Three taps.

                Ilia looked around her hideaway, looking for anything useable as a distraction.  She moved through a couple buildings before finding a small rock bed, with a wide variety of stones and pebbles, plenty of which she could use.  She scooped up a handful before making her way back to the ramp area.  She looked around, finding several buildings ahead of her.

                They were juicy targets indeed.  Time to see who takes the bait.

                Ilia threw several stones, hitting the side of a house before one found a window, smashing it.  The pair of guards closest to her looked up, seeing the destroyed window.  “Come on, let’s check that out,” she heard one of them say.  They climbed up to the house, leaving the stationary guards perplexed.

                Time to advance.  Ilia stalked forward and launched several more, this time further away.  They all hit the sides and roofs of houses, but it was enough to alert one of the police.  They prodded their mate, and together they disappeared, hopefully long enough for her to get by the remaining pair of police.

                Ilia drew her sword and ran forward, as quick as she could with her ribs.  The remaining guards spotted her advancing through the shadows and started shouting for the others to return, leaving Ilia with little time.  She lashed out her sword, striking and shocking one, bringing them to their knees.  The other one drew a club and prepared to parry, but Ilia leap into them, pushing her knee into their face and forcing them backwards.  The impact didn’t stop her momentum forward, even with her ribs protesting the movement.  She hit the ground and kept running, ignoring the shouts from behind her as the other guards came back from their investigations.  The bottom of the ramp came and went, and she found herself amongst more houses, trying to find a new hiding spot, trying to ignore the shouts behind, trying to ignore the pain exploding from her side, trying to focus on one foot at a time, running as fast as she could, hearing her wrist cry out “Don’t stop Ilia!  Get somewhere safe!” and I’m trying Weiss I’m trying I’m trying!

                There, ahead of her, she spotted a fence, around eight or nine feet high, easily scalable in a single leap but maybe problematic for her.  She had to take that risk.  She couldn’t tell if the guards were closing in on her but looking back would have slowed her down.  She leaped and grabbed the top of the fence, pulling herself over in less than two seconds.  She landed hard – the ribs wanted no more of this – but she got back up and kept going, not as fast as before, but still fast enough.  The guards reached the fence moments after her but they were clunky in trying to get over.  Time to lose them.  Ahead, another wall, scaling that easily enough.  She maneuvered through trees and brush, and another wall, then another.  Ahead, an abandoned house with an open window.  She looked back once – just once – and didn’t see anyone behind.  Quickly Ilia, you can make it.  She slipped in through the window, closed it, locked it, and ducked down, laying on the floor, controlling her breath as best as possible, not calming down fast enough, hearing the guards come out of the park, confused, splitting up, and running away.

                “I’m safe for now,” Ilia tapped.  “I need ice.”

                “I’m applying it now.  Just take a breath and relax,” Weiss replied.

                “I’m trying!” she shouted into her wrist.  “Sprinting from the police is insane!”

                “I can feel that, literally.  It’s not something I hope to ever have to do.”

                “You should try it.  It’s good exercise.”

                “I’ll pass,” Weiss said.  “How’s the situation?”

                Ilia climbed up and peeked out the window.  “Looks like the police moved on.”

                “Good.  It feels like your ribs are burning though.”

                “They are.  This sucks a lot.  I don’t think I can do that again.”

                “I hope not.  According to my friend, you don’t have to worry about that between the middle and lower levels.”

                “That’s good when I get there,” Ilia said, “but I’m still too close to the top.  There could be more police coming down.  Without my scroll I’m a sitting duck.”

                “I’ll try and be your eyes then.”  There was an extended pause before Weiss started tapping again.  “If you’re still on the southern ledge, there’s several ramps ahead that lead to the lower level.  You could also go east and hit a ramp there.  What do you think?”

                “I think I want to sleep and never wake up,” Ilia tapped out.

                “As much as you should, don’t.  I’ll probably freak out if you disappear like that.”

                Ilia smiled.  “I won’t.  Not till I get back to my hideout.”  She shifted, trying to get a better position against the wall but hissed as her ribs flared up in pain again.  She couldn’t breathe, not without feeling her lungs press against her cracked or broken ribs.

                Nothing went how it was supposed to go.

                “I don’t think I can make it back,” Ilia tapped, realizing just how bad things were for her.  “Not without seriously injuring myself.”

                “You can’t stay there either though,” Weiss responded.

                “I know.  This place won’t be safe for long.”  She looked around as best she could: largely empty, save for a few left behind dust covered pieces of clothing and furniture.  Nothing for her to really use.  She started panicking, her breathing becoming more labored.  “I’m sorry.  Everything is messed up and now I won’t be able to go home,” she said, a tear rolling down her face.

                “Ilia…”

                “This should have been easy!  A simple recon mission and even I messed that up.  Just get the info, get away, and in a few hours I would have been on an airship back to Menagerie.  But no, I fucking slipped up and ruined everything!”  Ilia was crying now, sad and angry and in pain.  She didn’t want to be here, stuck in Mistral.  She wanted to be home.  She wanted to smell the ocean from her room.

                She wanted Weiss to be there with her, enjoying everything, enjoying her, kissing her just once.

                “It looks like I won’t make it to the Vytal Festival,” Ilia said, laughing bitterly to herself.

                “Not with those ribs you won’t.  We still have to get you home.”

                Ilia shook her head.  “Unless you know someone here who could smuggle me out, I’m going to be in Mistral for a very long time.”

                “I don’t.”  Ilia frowned.  She should, right?  The Schnee Dust Company has its’ hands everywhere. 

                Don’t think that about Weiss, Ilia.  She doesn’t deserve that.

                “But… I know someone here that should.  Hang on.”

                Ilia blinked.  Someone that’s there from Mistral?  “Who do you know?”

                Several long moments passed before Weiss tapped again: “Pyrrha is the Mistral combat champion.  She’s been in and out of that city for a long time.  She should know people there.”

                “Is she around?”

                “I… well, I kinda just woke her up?  She’s coming to my room in a moment.”  Ilia smiled, even though she shouldn’t.  She didn’t want to feel relief, at least until a plan was in place.  “Okay, she’s here.  Give me a moment to explain everything to her.”

                Ilia waited, long agonizing moments, while Weiss talked.  She felt a slow, rhythmic tapping on her wrist, a bunch of nonsense, but soothing nonsense, nonetheless.  It felt good.  She started to relax as best she could, her ribs reminding her to take it easy, even with lying down on the floor.  She wanted to sleep, but not yet, not while her soul mate was working wonders.

                “Ilia,” Weiss said, gaining her attention.

                “I’m here.”

                “Okay, so Pyrrha is contacting a friend in the middle level.  She’s going to have them bring you to their place for a few days while you heal up, and then you can get back to Menagerie in one piece.  Can you tell me what you’re close to?”

                “I passed through a park or just a small area of trees… I can’t really describe much more than that.”  She climbed up, peeking out the window to where she thought she came from.  “There were a couple of short walls though.  I see one of them now, northwest of me?”

                “That’ll have to do.”  Ilia waited as Weiss relayed that information.  “His name is Mikeaus… tall, red hair, clean shaven… he knows the area a bit… he just needs a description of you… oh, wait.”

                “What’s up?”

                “Blake says she has a picture of you.  I forgot about that too.”

                “Wait, you’ve seen me before?!” Ilia furiously tapped out.

                “I haven’t!” Weiss replied quickly.  “I didn’t think it would be fair.”

                Ilia shook her head.  Such a stupid thing to worry about now.  “Hopefully it’s a good one.”

                “Blake says it is?  Anyway, Pyrrha told Mikeaus… he’s on his way.  Give him twenty minutes.”

                “Okay, I can hold on… I think.”

                “Let me know when he’s there, and stay awake!”

                “Of course I will Weiss,” Ilia said, shaking her head, smiling all the while.  “Thank you, for everything.”

                “You’re welcome.  I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

                “I wouldn’t be without you,” Ilia told her.  “Probably be dying in a ditch somewhere.  Or rotting in a jail cell.”

                “Nah, wouldn’t let that happen to you.  I still have to find you, remember?”

                Ilia sighed.  Someday…

                “Hey…”

                “Yeah, Weiss?”

                “You’re… very pretty.”

                “Thanks,” Ilia said, feeling blissful.

                “I like your hair, actually.  Almost as long as mine, I think.”

                “I forgot you told me that.  Long and white.”

                “Very long, and very white,” Weiss said, and Ilia chuckled.

                “When will I get to see you?” Ilia asked.

                “Let’s see… Vytal is less than three weeks from starting.  Think you can hold out until then?”

                “I’ll make sure every televiewer is broadcasting your beauty.”

                There were a few beats before she answered.  “Good,” she finally answered.  Ilia wondered how flustered she got just now.  “Now, rest up.  Mikeaus will be there shortly.”

 

* * *

 

 

                True to their word, Mikeaus arrived in twenty minutes, and Ilia managed to get his attention without alerting the police, if any were close by.  Together, the pair of them made their way back to his home, east of where she was hiding.  He didn’t ask questions, at least none right now, and Ilia felt at ease because of that.

                They arrived at his home as the first light was coming up over the horizon.  She immediately asked for a cord for her scroll to power up, and Mikeaus obliged.  She tapped Weiss: “I’m safe, finally.”

                “Good, I’m glad.  Now get some sleep, you need it.”

                “You too.  You’ve been up late as well.”

                “I am.  Sleep well Ilia.”

                Three taps.

                “You too Weiss… and thank you, again, for saving me.”

                “You’re worth it, Ilia.  Don’t forget that.”

                She wouldn’t, she knew.  Weiss was incredible.

                Ilia found a message waiting for her as the scroll finished booting up.  She clicked on it, finding it from her mission leader: “What’s the status of the mission?” it read.

                Hopefully I won’t suffer any consequences for this…

                She replied: “Mission failure.  Information not obtained, and injuries sustained during mission.  Will report when ready for pick up.”

                She tossed her scroll away, not caring at all about the subsequent texts and potential calls from it, then walked over to the couch, where Mikeaus left for her a pillow and a couple of blankets.  She made it into a temporary bed, and laid down as gingerly as possible, avoiding her ribs as best she could.

                Moments later, Ilia fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my notes at the end of the previous chapter generated some fun comments concerning potential soul mate pairings, especially with Ruby. I will tell you, I'm standing firm on this main story with Ruby not being paired with a known character (yes, even if the randomly hinted Rose Garden in S6 is a thing).
> 
> But, what if... I wrote an AU within an AU?
> 
> So, thanks to the magical power of you guys, I'm writing a Nuts and Dolts one shot. It'll take me a while, and it'll probably be long (last I checked, over 2k words and I'm still creating Penny's back story), but I hope this little side excursion will be worth it. I won't post it until I wrap up Season three in this story, to avoid any potential spoilers.
> 
> I mean, can an AU within an AU potentially spoil the original AU? *shrugs shoulders*
> 
> Update wise, things should progress much smoother here for a while. I do plan on taking a short break after I wrap up season two to work on the next chapter of my Monochrome AU, but don't worry. This is my baby now.
> 
> And I'm sure everyone wants to see these two get together.
> 
> As always, kudos, comment, and subscribe. Thank you all for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts?


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